


you are worlds away

by wildestdreams



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Famous Harry, Fluff, M/M, Non-Famous Louis Tomlinson, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:47:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27692975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildestdreams/pseuds/wildestdreams
Summary: Sex Monarchy are local legends at the University of Brighton. Everyone adores their rock ‘n roll sound and they’re obsessed with the charming lead singer, Harry Styles. Everyone except Louis, who thinks they’re completely pretentious. However, upon meeting Harry and hearing them perform, Louis realizes that he might have been wrong. When a talent scout signs the band, things start accelerating for them. From going on tours to recording an album, it’s everything Harry has ever wanted, but with his feelings growing deeper for Louis, he’s not sure what he wants more.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 54
Kudos: 70





	1. track one: in the back of the bar

**Author's Note:**

> title from "come back, be here" by taylor swift :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not yet done with my other fic, but I've been so excited about this! i planned this fic and wrote this chapter years ago and just forgot about it. I'm reviving it now and hope you guys enjoy it! thank you to my b for being a wonderful beta and friend. love you forever. <3

**january**

* * *

The newspaper room felt stuffy. There was the usual staff of writers and editors, a good mix of thirty people, with an additional onslaught of first-years who weren’t quite brave enough to join the school newspaper during their first term, but decided to try it out on their second one. With the heat on full blast to make up for the cold, snowy air outside, Louis was sweating underneath his jean jacket. Even more, Liam kept nudging closer to Louis, his body heat emanating over to Louis.

The editor in chief, Taylor Swift, stood in the center of the room toward the wall with the planning board. The board was divided into each section of the school paper with lists of topics below that reporters would need to cover for the first issue. As she went over the rules and guidelines for the new people, Louis pulled out his phone to pass time. He’d been writing for the school newspaper since his first year, so he knew the ins and outs pretty well. Plus, he and Taylor got on well, so she wouldn’t mind if he drifted off for a bit. 

There were a few texts from Niall in their group chat with Liam. Niall had titled it ‘Apt 104’ in honor of the flat the three of them had just moved into off-campus of the University of Brighton. It was a perfect fit for them after a mutual friend of theirs told them about it two weeks ago. Not only was it a ten-minute walk from campus, but there were plenty of places for takeaway nearby and it was surprisingly spacious. They made the move last week, and since then, Niall had been heavily relying on the group chat to communicate about all sorts of things from food shopping to bills and even plans to go out and get shit faced. 

Niall

**We’re going out tonight boys !!!**

**TGIF**

Louis

**I’m down. Where were you thinking?**

Louis exited out of the Messages app and quickly did a scan of Instagram, double-tapping on a few pictures of his siblings before tuning back into the conversation in front of him. Liam was listening to Taylor diligently as she moved on to discuss the first issue of the paper. There were two articles per section, usually. The sections consisted of everything from sports, school affairs, entertainment, and student activities. 

“I want a good assignment,” Liam whispered to Louis. “Last year, Greg was editor and he gave me all the boring articles to write.”

“I remember you complaining about that,” Louis whispered back. “It’s weird because he always gave me whichever one I wanted.”

“Because he had a crush on you.”

Louis sputtered, scoffing at Liam. “You think he gave me the good articles because he wanted to get into my pants?”

“Yes.”

“Well, not true. He didn’t get into my pants and I still got the good articles.”

“He was still biased,” Liam pouted. 

“What do you want to write about this issue?” Louis asked him. 

“Sports, definitely.” 

Louis hummed in response, wondering what he wanted to write. Something thought-provoking for sure, but not too difficult or requiring a lot of research. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that just yet without fully knowing his course workload for this semester. He was two and a half years deep into his Literature major and there was always so much reading to do and papers to write. Growing up, writing in his journal was his outlet, and he never thought he’d be writing like this in a professional sense. When Louis got to university, he was looking for a place he could belong and fit in as well as meet people who enjoyed the same things. The newspaper seemed like a good place to start. He’d ended up finding a community here, enjoying it more than he thought he would.

It also led to one of his greatest accomplishments, which was breaking a front-page story. During the spring semester of his first year, Louis got wind of a secret society on campus that had a hazing ceremony which was brutal. He’d began digging and snooping, leading to discover that what was going on behind closed doors with this society was illegal on multiple accounts. He wrote the article and gave it to his editor at the time who made it the front-page story. The society was disbanded after investigations took place from the school. Everyone was talking about it and Louis was really proud of himself. 

Taking up more of his time was his new job at the school library, where he would be spending most of his free time, especially now that he had rent and bills to pay with the boys. Prior to this year, he was living in the halls with help from his mum and step-dad. After he turned 20, Louis felt like he needed to stand on his own two feet and do things for himself, so the move and the financial independence made sense. Plus he wanted to get away from campus. That lifestyle started to feel a little redundant and boring after a while. It was the same people, the same parties, and the same routine.

He met Niall and Liam in his first year at uni. Liam, who was a Journalism student, was in one of Louis’ classes. They met Niall, who was studying Psych, at a party, and it didn’t take long for them to become best friends. Niall proposed living off-campus together as he was getting a job soon at a nearby restaurant. Liam and Louis agreed, applying for jobs of their own. Louis easily got the one at the library since he was close to the librarians there. They liked his charming personality and always brought him tea when he stayed late to revise. Liam, on the other hand, found a job at the coffee shop on campus. It all worked out and Louis really liked their flat. There were no crazy parties during random days and times, no one to cock block you when you brought home someone to hook up with, and there was a lot more space. 

His phone chimed with a few more texts and Louis noticed that Liam had jumped in on the conversation. 

Niall

**Delilah’s of course**

**Supposed to be a massive night**

Liam

**ooooo cheap beers???**

Niall

**Nope**

**Sex monarchy is playing !!!! even BETTER!!!!**

Louis

**Oh, God. I’m out. I refuse to go.**

Niall

**Wtf why?**

Louis

**I’m not interested in seeing Sex Monarchy.**

**College bands are such a cliche and I’ve seen them once.**

**They’re not all that great.**

Niall

**Excuse you. Sex monarchy are fantastic**

Liam

**i have to agree, lou. they’re really good, and the drummer is hot.**

**why do u not like them?**

Louis

**Meh, not my type of music.**

**So, thanks, but no thanks.**

“Louis,” Taylor called, directing all attention towards him. 

He glanced up from his phone and smiled, good-naturedly. “What’s up?”

“Assignments,” Taylor reiterated with a smile of her own. “I’m thinking you should do the student social life this issue. See if there are any events going on or off-campus that students are talking about or will be going to.”

“Erm,” Louis mumbled, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know. Is there anything else?”

“There’s one about cafeteria prices rising and a profile on Professor Ingrid.” 

Fuck, Louis was stuck. Doing cafeteria prices meant research and everyone knew Professor Ingrid was a wordy talker. It would take forever to transcribe her quotes. Louis had no choice but to do the student social life article. Sensing Louis’ hesitation, Taylor smiled apologetically. 

“Sorry, Lou. Promise you’ll get first pick for the next issue,” she said. 

“Thanks, T,” he replied, feeling his phone buzz from incoming messages in the group chat. 

Liam

**louis just got assigned to write about student social life**

**what better topic than sex monarchy and their gig tonight**

Niall

**YESSSSS**

**You have to do it, lou. Everyone and their mums will be there.**

Louis

**Ugh. You guys are annoying. You owe me for this.**

**Buy me all my drinks tonight.**

**I’ll need it if I have to hear Sex Monarchy’s shitty music.**

The newspaper meeting was over shortly once Taylor assigned the remaining articles. Louis was definitely going to pay attention next time so that he could get dibs on the better topics. Student social life was fun, but not when he had to go to the student union bars to report on uni bands that sounded like a mess of instruments. 

Sex Monarchy were huge on campus, though. They were local legends who regularly played at Delilah’s, hoping to get scouted and make it big. Not that Louis could remember when or where he first heard them play. Maybe a party? Sometime last year? Or was it first year? He didn’t know, nor did he care. All he knew was that they were overrated and didn’t sound half as good as the hype made it seem. They liked to call themselves a breed between The Kooks and Arctic Monkeys. Louis thought they were a breed of shit and piss, but he wouldn’t say that to Niall, as he was a big fan for some reason and would probably cry. In addition to being shitty musicians, they were also cocky and arrogant. They’d played at Delilah’s once last year and Louis had shown up after their set. He was at the bar, waiting for his shots when two of the members came and stole them from right under his nose, high off their performance adrenaline. It was _barbaric_. 

The two friends exited the newspaper room, heading out to grab some lunch from the campus food court before going to their afternoon class. The snow was light outside, not really sticking to the ground, but rather melting away and becoming slosh. They bundled up by the door before starting their trek across campus. 

Along the way, Louis spotted fliers stapled to some of the trees they were passing by. They were identical with a black background and large block letters. 

**SEX MONARCHY**

**TONIGHT @ DELILAH’S**

**DEBUTING NEW SONG ‘OUR CONDOLENCES’**

“They’re so _pretentious_ ,” Louis sneered at the fliers. 

“What? Who?” Liam inquired, having been immersed in his phone this whole time. 

“Sex Monarchy. Supposedly they’re debuting a new song tonight called ‘Our Condolences’,” Louis explained. “How fucking dumb does that sound?”

Liam chuckled, eyes landing on another flyer that they passed by. “Seems alright. You’re just hating.”

“I sure am. I’ll write a terrible review about them,” Louis decided. 

“That’s not ethical as a writer. What if you like them?”

“I sincerely doubt I will.”

♫

“I can’t believe you guys are dragging me here,” Louis grumbled for the fifth time into their ten minute walk to Delilah’s from their flat. 

Niall glared at him ruthlessly. “Tommo, I swear on me life, if you complain one more time about this, I will personally murder you.” 

Louis couldn’t help but snort. “Superfan Niall.”

“Sex Monarchy are _amazing_ , and I don’t know why you’re hating on them so much. You’re getting free booze and an easy article to write so you really shouldn’t be complaining.”

“I guess you’re right,” Louis amended, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket. 

It had gotten even colder as the day wore on, but Louis refused to wear something warmer. It was all a part of his look. Upon nightfall, the snow had stopped, but the wind picked up. January was brutal in Brighton, being near the water and all, but Louis was used to it at this point. Since moving from Doncaster, he rarely went back home, having fallen in love with this city. The air was always sticky sweet, a breeze ever-present even on the hottest summer days, and there was always something to do. Brighton Pier never got boring, the colorful houses all in a row were a sight to see, and Louis loved the life he built. Donny was always going to be home, but this was where he belonged. 

Delilah’s was already bursting with people when they arrived. Several of them were stood outside with their drinks, taking a smoke break, and Louis and his friends walked past them inside. It was loud and packed to the point that it was definitely illegal. Louis grabbed Niall’s hand as he led the group to an empty high top table toward the side of the bar. They managed to pull three tall chairs together and then sat down. 

“This is so not worth it,” Louis said just as he got shoved by someone walking by. 

“That’s it,” Niall declared, dramatically. “You’re buying the first round.”

“Excuse me, but the deal was you guys buy my drinks,” Louis objected. 

Niall tsked, shaking his head. “I never agreed to that. Did you, Leemo?”

They both turned to Liam, who was looking up at the stage that was being set up. “I don’t recall, no.”

“There it is then,” Niall grinned. “You can go grab us beers while we sit here and wait for the show to begin.”

“Bastards, the lot of you,” Louis grumbled, standing up and pushing his way past people to the bar. There were a few people in front of Louis, taking up space and chatting more than grabbing their orders and heading back to their seats. 

Louis decided to let himself hang back, not feeling like being in a hurry to catch the set of a wannabe rock band. His eyes darted around the familiar red walls of Delilah’s, filled with neon light signs and pictures of regulars with the bartenders and owner. There was music playing in the background over the chatter. It sounded like The Kooks, which Louis enjoyed, so he tapped his fingers against the bartop. 

“Are you alright?” 

Louis glanced to his right at the sound of the voice, a deep, slow drawl that piqued his interest. A guy was standing beside him, and _fuck_ , how did Louis miss him? He was _gorgeous_. With milky smooth skin akin to bloody Snow White, the brightest green eyes Louis’d ever seen, a sharp jawline that could cut steel and a pair of full, pink lips adorned his pretty face. His chestnut curls were shoulder-length, held back with a soft pink scarf, keeping them out of his face. 

“I’m fine,” Louis replied. “Why do you ask?”

The guy laughed, husky and low, as he hunched down to reach Louis’ height to say in his ear, “You just look a bit pissed off.” 

“Oh, I am,” Louis admitted, letting his eyes drift down to check the guy out a little more. He was _really_ nice on the eyes, long legs trapped in tight, black skinny jeans and a soft pink blouse with white polka dots on top. He had on a pair of shiny, gold boots with actual heels. 

He nudged Louis’ shoulder with his, relocating his eyes back to his face. There was a dimple carved into one of his cheeks, even his smile flawless. “Anything you’d care to share?”

“Well, my friends dragged me out tonight to see this stupid band. They’re called Sex Monarchy, or whatever.” 

A surprised expression washed over the guy’s face, lips parted in a perfect O while his eyes widened, almost comically. It soothed out into an amused grin and he let out a small laugh. “Wow, really?”

Louis nodded fervently. “It’s so shit of them, but I’ve got to write an article for the school newspaper about a student event. Seems like everyone is here tonight, but I honestly don’t get it. I think I saw the band once and they _sucked_.”

“I see,” he said, letting his voice trail off, eyes curious. “What was it about them? You just not like their music or?”

“Not really my cup of tea, if I’m honest with you. If I remember correctly, I saw them about two years ago at a party. Don’t remember the details. Just that I found them obnoxious. Not really sure what’s changed since then as I haven’t paid much attention to them, but I’m sure they’re still shit, have an awful sound, and aren’t getting anywhere past this bar. Two of the band members once stole my shots right in front of me at this bar last year as well. They’re too cocky already.”

“Shit,” the guy grinned. “You really do hate them. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Louis waved off, looking at the front of the bar to see if the people have moved so he could go through. They hadn’t, but Louis didn’t mind. He wanted to keep talking to this guy. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Harry,” he replied, beaming at Louis. 

“Nice to meet you, Harry. I’m Louis. Are you a fan of the band?”

Harry shrugged. “Sort of. Heard of them here and there.”

“They’re pretty popular at our school,” Louis shared. “My friends love them.”

“Well, I’m sorry they brought you here against your will. Hopefully, the band surprises you and you like them, even just a little.”

“Doubt it. I’m planning on writing a really bad review.”

“Ouch,” Harry grimaced, though the playful grin was still present on his face. 

“It’s fine, though. It’s not so bad now that I got to meet you.”

Harry licked his lips, a grin blooming on his face, bright and so fucking beautiful. Louis found himself subtly tilting his body toward Harry, almost invitingly. Liam and Niall were probably waiting for their drinks, but fuck them. Louis didn’t want to be here and he didn’t want to see this band. Now that Harry was here, looking like the perfect distraction, he wasn’t going to just ignore him and get on with his night. Harry seemed like he’d be a lot of fun. 

And that was exactly what Louis was really looking for at the moment. He’d gotten out of a long-term relationship last summer and he wanted to relax and stay single for a while. Over the course of the fall semester, he’d had a few one-night stands and it was enough to get him by. Of course, Harry was a lot prettier than the guys Louis had hooked up with, and it was evident he was interested, so Louis really wasn’t sure where this was going to go. 

“You know, I know the bar pretty well backstage. Want me to show you around?” Harry asked, leaning in close again to say the words to Louis. Perhaps it was how loud it was in the bar. but Louis was going to pretend that it was because he was making a move on Louis.

“That sounds fun,” Louis agreed, batting his eyelashes a little bit. “Do you, like, work here or something?”

“Nah, just come by a lot. My friends play here some nights.” 

Louis nodded in acknowledgment and they moved through the crowds of people. They passed by an empty table where someone left an unattended shot so Louis quickly downed it, feeling the whiskey burn as it rushed down his throat, and then followed Harry past the small stage into a back entryway. There were four doors, one of them with the label ‘Manager’ written on it, one for the kitchen, another that said ‘Talent’, and one more that read Exit. It wasn’t like Louis was expecting some sort of secret maze, or anything glamorous, but he was lost and questioning Harry’s motive in bringing him back here. 

Harry stopped in front of the Exit door and Louis frowned deeper, yet still followed Harry through the doorway. The crisp, cold air hit his face for a moment and then a gust of warm breeze followed. They were standing outside, but it wasn’t leading anywhere. The area was a small, square courtyard with a round, white metal table in the middle, a few chairs surrounding it, and trash cans on the far right corner. The warm breeze was coming from the vents, which was located against the wall beside the door. A single light hung from above the doorway and illuminated Harry’s face as he looked at Louis, waiting for a response. 

“This is interesting,” Louis settled on commenting, eyes studying the small space. It was private, like a spot someone would need to clear their heads or take a breather. The noise from inside sounded muffled and distant, while the street noise was kept out as well since the spot was wedged between the bar and the building on the other side. 

“Glad you like it,” Harry said, leaning his bum onto the table in the center as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you go to UoB?”

“Yeah. I’m a Lit student. What about you?”

“Business and Management,” Harry responded. “I’m in my third year.”

“Me too,” Louis said, starting to pace around the small courtyard. It was chilly, but the warm breeze from the vents helped. “My roommates, who brought me here tonight, and I just moved into our own flat off-campus, so it’s been a bit different this time around.”

“I live with my friends, too,” Harry shared. “We’ve got a lot in common.”

Louis hummed, smiling as he met Harry’s gaze, who was watching him with eyes that looked both soft and a little hungry, too. “Except for the fact that you sort of like Sex Monarchy. Don’t know if we agree on that.”

Harry bit his lip, grinning as he did so. “They’re not so bad, you know?”

Louis sighed. “You said it, mate, not me. How long have you been a fan? I bet you’re like Niall...a _super_ fan.”

“That’s not important,” Harry waved off, avoiding the question. “You mentioned you have to write about them for the school newspaper? Is that something you do?”

“Write for the paper?” Louis asked, pausing in front of Harry with his back to the bar. Harry nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been a part of it since my first year. It’s fun.”

“So you’re a writer. I like that. I write too.”

“What do you write?” 

“Poems...songs,” Harry answered. “Anything and everything that’s on my mind. Mostly about strong emotions like love and heartbreak and anger.”

An _emotional_ _poet_ , Louis thought to himself. As if Harry wasn’t perfect already, he was also a poet, who wrote sonnets and lyrics. Louis wanted him. He _needed_ him. He gulped, stepping closer to the other boy. “Thanks for bringing me out here,” he said, voice as quiet as a whisper, hoping it sounded a little suggestive and seductive. 

Harry sensed the change in the mood and stood up, walking closer to Louis. “Is it alright if I kiss you?” he asked breathily, lips parting already. 

Grabbing his hand, Louis pulled him close until Louis was pressed flush against the wall with Harry’s weight on top of him. Harry let out a muffled groan, rounding his arm around Louis’ waist and pressing their lips together. The first thing Louis registered was how soft Harry’s lips were, plush against his own. Even his tongue, which slid in slyly, was as smooth as velvet. Louis took pleasure in the wet heat of their mouths moving together, at the way Harry held him and breathed against him. He tasted like hard liquor, bitter and sharp, but also like honey, sweet and tart.

There was something so thrilling about kissing strangers, especially when they were as hot as Harry. This was much better than sitting in a crowded bar and hearing a dumb band play. Louis would like to stay out here all night, feeling Harry’s fingers on his body, while they kissed until their tongues felt numb and their lips felt swollen. He really wanted to get lost in Harry. There was something about him and the way he gave himself to Louis that aroused a certain curiosity in Louis. 

For example, where had he been all of Louis’ life? Why had Louis never seen him before? 

Pushing those questions out of the way, Louis focused on the kiss and the way Harry pressed and dragged their lips together. He pulled apart, breathing heavily as his eyes glazed over Louis’ face. “Fuck, you’re beautiful. I can’t take my eyes off of you,” Harry blushed, sinking down for another kiss, one that swept Louis off of his fucking feet. 

Louis was getting hard at the way their hips were grinding together. It was turning filthier by the second, twisting and turning just right until their clothed cocks were able to rub against each other. Harry started to pant, eyes dark as he blinked at Louis. His lips were wet, obscene, and red and Louis couldn’t help but grab him by the back of his neck and bring him down for another steamy kiss. He wanted to mess Harry up more than he already was.

The door beside them slammed open, jarring the two of them enough to break their kiss, but not enough to pull them away from each other. They looked to see who the intruder was and was met with the sight of an angry girl with long, blond hair and dark eyeliner smudged around her eyes. “Harry, what the fuck?” she growled, holding a pair of drum sticks in her hands. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, voice low and deep. He adjusted himself as he tore apart from Louis’ embrace, leaving him cold and confused. He looked at him, eyes apologetic and dark with lust. “I’ve got to go, but I’d really like to see you later.”

“Um,” Louis mumbled, but before he could say more, the girl grabbed Harry’s hand and dragged him inside. 

Louis was so fucking hard and also so fucking annoyed as to what just happened. He whimpered at the sight of his tenting dick, but waited a bit until it went down, and then headed inside. It felt like everything had gotten ten times louder and crowded. Louis sought out his friends, finding them exactly where he’d left them except this time they had two pitchers of beer in front of them. Louis sat down in his seat and they both looked at him, surprised. 

“We thought you’d left,” Niall said. “Where’d you fuck off to?”

“I met someone,” Louis sighed, grabbing a glass and pouring himself some beer. 

“Is that why you look like that?” Liam asked, gesturing toward Louis’ hair and face, which no doubt was all messed up and debauched. Louis self consciously tried fixing his hair and wore a pout on his face.

“He was really cute.”

“Who was he?” Niall asked, sipping his beer. 

As Louis went to answer, someone tapped on a microphone, quieting down the entire bar. Louis slowly swiveled in his seat as the spotlights lit up on the stage. Once his eyes saw who was standing there, Louis breathed out, “fuck.” 

Standing center stage with a guitar around his shoulder and a gorgeous, dimpled smile on his face was none other than Harry, looking freshly fucked himself even though all they’d done was make out. Beside him were three other people. One of them was the girl who’d dragged Harry back inside, sitting behind a drum kit. On their right was a dark-haired, broody looking guy wearing a leather jacket whilst holding a bass guitar in his hands. And on the left was a red-headed guy, looking much more relaxed than the others in his flannel and baggy jeans with a keyboard and mic in front of him. The latter two were the ones who stole Louis’ shots last year.

The girl raised her drum sticks up in the air, tapping them together three times before they erupted into a song, loud and melodious. The noise ricocheted off the speakers and the room moved with the beat, throwing their hands up in the air. Some people were even singing along having memorized the lyrics despite the band not having actual recorded music, which was honestly really impressive. What was also impressive was Harry’s voice. It was a mixture of delicate yet sexy, captivating in a way Louis wasn’t quite sure he could handle right at that moment. He was completely mesmerized at the performance and the power behind it, watching with his jaw slack and eyes wide. As the song started to dwindle down, Louis looked back at his friends to see them enjoying, heads bobbing along while holding their drinks in hand. 

“That song was ‘Hedonistic Fiasco,’ one of the first ones we’d ever written as a band. The next one’s a new one called ‘Our Condolences.’ Let us know what you think,” Harry said into the mic. 

He started off this one, a snazzy guitar tune that was rhythmic as it built up, followed by the drums and the rest of the instruments. The lyrics spoke about wanting to create art that actually meant something, using words Louis typically wouldn’t lace together, but was, in fact, brilliant. He was entrapped, unable to look away from Harry and the way he commandeered the room. It was similar to the way he commandeered their kiss outside, smooth and charming. 

At some point, in the middle of the next song which was about sex, Louis felt Harry looking back at him, grinning into the mic as he sang. His hair was damp with sweat and there was sweat beading down his face as he played and sang with everything in him. Soon, his eyes drifted back to the crowd, waving to the line of girls who were in front of the stage, screaming for Harry and reaching out to touch his hand. During the bridge, he stopped playing, letting the bass take over, and grabbed the hands of the girls, grinning at the way they got hysterical over it. The song came to a close and everyone cheered. Harry grabbed a water bottle beside his mic, taking a drink from it before speaking into the mic again. 

“I’m Harry Styles and we are Sex Monarchy. Thank you for coming to see us tonight and I hope you’re enjoying the show,” he said. The crowd cheered, some whistling while others clapped. Harry’s eyes drifted over to Louis again, smirking right at him. “This next one’s called ‘Flower Boy.’” 

♫

With a steaming cup of tea beside his laptop, Louis sat down at his desk the following night, opening up a blank page on a Word document. He titled it _Sex Monarchy’s Performance at Delilah’s_ and then proceeded to stare blankly at the page for a few moments. 

His head was still struggling to grasp the fact that he openly trashed Harry’s band to his face without realizing he was the lead singer and guitarist. How fucking _stupid_ , he thought. Harry didn’t even correct him, but Louis figured it must have been embarrassing for him as well. And yet, they still hooked up, and Louis couldn’t understand why Harry would after all that Louis said. Perhaps it was a physical thing for him as well, but Louis was really ashamed of himself. 

Mostly because Sex Monarchy wasn’t as bad as he remembered them being. Their music was actually really good, sound similar to The Arctic Monkeys, but he didn’t want to admit that to anyone, not just yet. Instead, he was going to start by stalking them on social media for the purpose of research for his article. Pulling up Instagram on his phone, he typed in the band’s name and found their profile right away. Their pictures ranged from group shots where they looked bored and angsty, candid shots of each member with their instruments, and handwritten lyrics on white paper with an aesthetic background. 

While Louis dug deeper, going as far back as a year on their profile, he heard the front door open and close, the conversation of his roommates drifting into his room. He put his phone down and walked out to meet them in the kitchen where they placed takeaway bags on the counter. 

“Hi Lou,” Niall greeted. “We got Indian food.”

“Yum,” Louis said, grabbing plates and helping them set the table. Once all the food was spread out on the counter and they’d each gotten their helpings and sat down, Liam asked Louis, “What were you up to?”

“Writing my article,” Louis responded. 

“Oh, right,” Niall snickered. “Forgot to ask what you thought of the band and their music.”

Louis shrugged. “They were okay. I actually, um, needed a bit more backstory on them.”

“Like what?” Niall questioned, biting into his tandoori chicken. 

“Formation and all that,” Louis replied, waving his fork around before digging into his rice and veggies. 

“Oh, well, Harry, Zayn, and Cara were on the same floor at their dorms their first year and they were all jamming out one night and decided to form a band,” Niall explained, biting a piece of his naan with his chicken. “They met Ed a few months later, and he plays keyboard, so he asked to audition. Once Ed got on board, they started to take this more seriously. At first, they only did covers, but then they started writing their own songs. Harry writes them all, but Ed weighs in now and then.” 

Louis absorbed all this information before nodding and going back to his food. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Liam broke the silence. “Why the sudden interest, Lou? Thought you were going to give them a shitty review.”

Louis wanted to tell his friends the truth. He wanted to share the experience of last night with _someone_ because he couldn’t stop thinking about it. This entire day had been an ongoing loop of Harry’s wet kissed lips, the melodies of Sex Monarchy, and the intense, sex-crazed way Harry looked at Louis through the entire performance. However, Louis knew his friends were going to laugh at him. Did he share his feelings and ask for advice, or did he face the humiliation of their jokes?

In the end, the former won out, and Louis confessed everything. By the time he was done, his cheeks were warm with heat. Both Niall and Liam were in stitches, of course, trying not to choke on their dinner. When they eventually started to calm down, Liam gave Louis a sympathetic look, eyes akin to a puppy dog. “So what are you going to do? Are you going to talk to Harry?”

Sighing, Louis shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ve managed all this time without bumping into him, I doubt I’ll see him again.”

“But it sounds like you guys really liked each other,” Niall pointed out. 

“Yes, but it was probably a one-time thing,” Louis said, more to himself than the boys. 

♫

The following afternoon, Louis was tasked with reshelving all the books that were returned by students overnight as well as the books that were left on the tables on all the floors. He grabbed a cart, placing all the books on it, and moved around the library slowly, trying to place them back in their correct sections in alphabetical order. He enjoyed this task. It gave him time to step away from the desk where he had to greet people, talk to students who needed help, and manage book orders. Reshelving was slow and methodical and it relaxed Louis. 

He’d reached the Biography section on the second floor toward the left-wing where he had four books to place. The first three were easy, on low shelves, however, the last one was meant to be on the very top shelf, which Louis couldn’t reach. 

Huffing, he stood on the very tips of his tippy toes, trying to slot the book in its appropriate place, but he was barely grazing the edge of the shelf. Who the fuck decided that shelves this tall were necessary? Did they think students were going to be 8 feet tall and able to reach the top easily?

Louis tried jumping, his breaths coming out in short puffs as he exerted himself to try and put the book away. Thank God there were no other students around, otherwise, Louis would be _mortified_. He’d always been a bit insecure about his height, so this was bloody torture. On his next jump, he felt the book slipping out of his grasp and into another hand. 

Louis backed up in surprise, glancing over to see Harry, _of all fucking people_ , smirking at him as he held the book in his hand and easily placed it in its spot. Well, fuck.

He hadn’t even seen or heard Harry approach. He was as quiet as a kitten, which was a little surprising, considering his height, which he had no problem flaunting. He was dressed a bit casually today, blue jeans with a black t-shirt on top. His curls were loose from the headscarf today, placed gracefully over his shoulders, and he had a bright smile directed toward Louis, who was struggling to speak. 

“Hi,” Harry said slowly. 

“Hi,” Louis squeaked before shutting his eyes, embarrassed. He needed to pull it together. “What are you doing here?”

“I go to this school,” Harry replied, a matter of factly. 

“Oh, right,” Louis nodded. “I just meant _here_.”

“At the library? Where people come to read and revise?”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Okay, I mean how did you find me?”

Harry leaned against the shelf, crossing his arms over his chest. His biceps flexed, tightening up the sleeves of his shirt. “Was I not supposed to?” 

Louis bit his lip, unsure of what to say. Harry’s gaze on him was _intense_. It felt like he was drilling a hole right through Louis to get inside of him and a flush crept up on Louis’ neck. He felt hot and cramped between these narrow bookshelves with Harry. He shrugged in response to Harry’s question. “You can do what you want.”

“I asked people about you,” Harry said. “I also did a little bit of social media stalking and somehow figured out that you work here.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” Louis replied, sarcastically. He was aware that he’d done the same thing not too long ago, but Harry didn’t have to know that. Besides, his research was for the newspaper whereas Harry was just a stalker.

Harry let out a honking laugh, covering his mouth quickly before anyone could tell him to shush. Not that there were many people on the second floor. They usually either stayed downstairs or on the fourth floor, where it was most quiet. Louis gave him a soft smile and started carting his books to the next section. He could hear Harry following behind, his boots hitting the rug in soft taps. 

“I read your review, by the way,” Harry said. “In the school newspaper.”

Louis blushed even deeper. He’d forgotten about that. The first issue was printed and distributed on Friday, and just knowing that Harry actually read it made it so much more embarrassing. As a journalist, Louis couldn’t lie when he wrote the article, even if it did hurt his pride and ego a little bit to admit that Sex Monarchy weren’t terrible like he’d thought. They were good and knew how to put on a show. “Oh?” Louis responded, feigning nonchalance. He stopped in the British Literature section, taking out the books he needed to put away. 

“It was amazing,” Harry grinned, his dimple carving into his cheek like art. Louis stared for a moment, licking his lips as he did before turning away. “Thank you so much for giving us a good review. I know you weren’t thinking too highly of us before, but I’m glad that we were able to change your mind. It's the little things like that that really help our band.”

“It was nothing,” Louis shrugged, placing the books away. “No need to thank me.”

“Let me,” Harry pleaded. “You’re a brilliant writer.”

“Thank you,” Louis said quietly, turning away from him. 

“I especially liked the way you described me.” _Oh God_. Louis busied himself, finding the correct spot for the book in his hand while Harry leaned in a bit closer. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?” Louis played dumb.

“Do you really think I’m _enigmatic and charming_? That I was _born for the stage_ and my vocals are like _a rockstar waiting to be discovered_?”

“ _Stop_ ,” Louis whined, mortified as he covered his face with the book in his hand. He slowly moved it down to peer at Harry. “I wrote it, right?”

“Right,” Harry said, a smug smile on his face. 

“Then I meant it. Now stop teasing me about it or else I won’t ever write nice things about you guys again,” Louis threatened. Harry let out another laugh, not even bothering to cover his mouth this time. He started to help Louis with the books, bringing more over and putting away the ones on the top shelf. 

They weren’t really talking much, but his presence brought butterflies to Louis’ stomach. He really had no idea how to handle Harry now outside of Delilah’s without the intoxicating smoke surrounding them and the taste of alcohol on his tongue. Harry, for the most part, was at ease. Louis didn’t find that very surprising. He seemed like the kind of guy who strolled through most things in life, including flustering a boy who clearly had a bit of a crush.

Once they placed all the books away, Harry walked with Louis toward the lift. Louis watched him out of the corner of his eye as Harry ran a hand through his hair, pushing his curls out of his eyes back into place. When they reached the lift, Louis pressed the button to go down, glancing over at Harry. 

“Thanks for helping me,” he said. “You didn’t have to.”

“Of course,” Harry smiled, his pink lips spreading across his face. “Letting you in on a little secret, but I didn’t come here to read or revise. Came here to see you.”

“Yeah?”

“If that wasn’t obvious. Haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

“C’mon, Harry,” Louis breathed out, his face warm. “I trashed your band all night. I don’t know why you’d want to find me or take the time to think of me.”

“You had _apprehensions_ about our band, yes. But we were able to clear all of that up. I know you enjoyed the show based on your review.”

“I did. A lot of it had to do with the singer,” Louis quietly admitted. 

Harry grinned again, leaning into Louis so that their shoulders brushed. The lift doors opened and the two of them went in. Louis pressed the button for the bottom floor and the doors closed behind them, leaving them completely alone. Harry leaned on the opposite wall from Louis and met his gaze. 

“You should come to the next show,” Harry said. “I wanted to specially invite you.”

“When is it?” Louis asked. 

“This Saturday, February the 1st. We’re not playing at Delilah’s, though. Ed got us a slot at the Cow’s Tap.”

Louis snorted. “Is that a milk bar?”

Harry laughed, loud and bright again, his eyes twinkling. “No, it’s a normal bar. But I want you to come. I’ll buy you some drinks, you can watch us play, and then we can hang out. It’s, um, it’s a special show that night.”

Louis bit his lip, his eyes wavering as the lift doors opened. He pushed the cart out and walked toward the front desk where Harry followed him. He wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t know if he wanted to go. Of course, Harry was cute and Louis would love to hook up with him again because it was clear that’s what Harry wanted, but there were so many people who wanted to hook up with Harry. Louis could see it even as they walked in the library together. People were ogling him and all his rockstar aura. 

The idea of being a groupie wasn’t something Louis imagined for himself and he wasn’t sure he could handle it. More than that, he still didn’t know if he could handle Harry himself. He was _a lot_. Everything about him was too much and Louis barely knew him, yet he was still overwhelmed. It just felt like Louis was going to burst out of his skin with how much he already felt and wanted from this boy.

When he finally made it to the desk, Louis put the cart behind his chair, turning to look at Harry. He’d placed his hands over the desk, folded in front of him like a good schoolboy. “Please come,” Harry said again.

“I -- I’ll think about it, okay?” Louis said. 

Harry paused, not looking all too happy with that response, but still nodded his head. “Yeah, sure. I look forward to it, Louis. Hope to see you in the crowd.”

He waved at Louis, backing away toward the door, and Louis visibly shook himself once he was out of sight. He really, _really_ had no idea how to handle him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh let me know what you guys thought!! :)  
> [fic post](https://butyouneverdo.tumblr.com/post/635635810454110208/fic-you-are-worlds-away-author-wildestdreams) | [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/12ebXo3u9AycSbMSZfgaUO?si=hekLFJKHRnyjjiDhfe3neg) | [tumblr](http://butyouneverdo.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	2. track two: these violent delights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter contains one of my favorite scenes I've ever written. thank you to William shakespeare for the lines as well! many thanks to my beta, e! I love you forever b <3

**february**

* * *

Saturday night came and Louis ended up on Brighton Pier with Niall and Liam instead of at the Cow’s Tap where Sex Monarchy was playing. 

Louis tried not to think about it because all he’d done during the days leading up to Saturday was obsess over whether or not he should go. But he didn’t know how to just _go_. He wasn’t prepared for what would happen, so he kept delaying and delaying until Liam suggested they go to the pier for fish and chips since that was the only place, in their opinion, where fish and chips were decently done.

The three of them took the bus over, getting off right by the pier where there were clusters of people in every direction. Despite the cold weather, many were walking on the beach and dipping their toes into the water. Shrieks and laughter could be heard from all the rides and the smell of fried food wafted in the air. The boys first stop was the corner fish and chip shop where they got three of the largest sizes, taking their food to a bench outside. After they stuffed their faces and were pleasantly full, Niall wanted to walk around and get on some rides. Liam was against it at first saying they just ate, but Niall coerced him into agreeing. They got on the Ferris wheel and Louis looked at the water quietly while his friends laughed over some kid running away from their parents down below. 

It was a perfect night, Louis thought. He always loved going out with the boys and chilling, but his mind was completely stuck on Harry. He’d come all the way to the library to invite him, offering to give him the whole night, and Louis sort of stood him up. Did Harry look for him? Did he wait? Or did he at some point realize that Louis wasn’t going to show up and then just got with someone else. There weren’t rumors about Harry being some big lothario on campus, but he was naturally flirty, and people threw themselves at him. Plus, the two of them fooled around that night, so Harry mustn’t be new to hooking up with strangers. The thought of it made Louis feel a bit jealous, even though he didn’t want to admit that himself. He didn’t want to think of Harry with other people, which was completely ridiculous. 

♫

Niall knew a guy, who knew a girl, who knew a guy that was filthy rich and throwing a party that following Thursday at his mansion. He scored the three of them an invite and they showed up well on their way to being drunk. The house was _huge_. There were at least three floors, fifty rooms, and a Gatsby-style balcony on the second floor with ivy vines twisted around it. Louis was having the time of his life, drinking with his best friends, and dancing stupidly to the music. 

He saw a lot of people from his classes and faces he recognized from around campus. While chatting with a guy from his writing class from last year, Louis got a text from Niall that someone brought out a few joints and they were smoking up on the balcony. After five more minutes of catching up, Louis excused himself and bounded up the stairs. Sure enough, there was a private party right on the balcony, smoke billowing from everyone’s mouths, the pungent, sweet smell of weed drifting in the air. 

Louis walked over, grinning, and Niall passed him a joint of his own. This was shaping up to be a great party and Louis was soaking it in, not wanting to miss a moment. He leaned against the railing, feeling himself get looser and looser as the night wore on and his joint grew smaller. Suddenly, a loud, honking laugh snapped him out of his peaceful moment. It was familiar and making Louis’ heart race immediately, so he looked around for the source of the noise. 

Then out came Harry, stumbling from the door right below the balcony. He was laughing hysterically at something, gasping for breath. Soon, his bandmates followed him out, all of them looking chuffed as they talked about whatever it was that made Harry lose it. Louis watched them from his spot, admiring how pretty Harry looked even from this distance. He was wearing his black jeans again and a billowy white button up on top. Except he only buttoned it up halfway, his smooth, tattooed chest exposed for everyone to see. 

“Oh my God. It’s _Sex Monarchy_ ,” Niall breathed out beside Louis, his voice getting louder as he spoke. “ _Hey, guys!_ ” He waved to the band, all of whom glanced up, waving back with uncertainty since none of them knew who Niall was. 

Niall didn’t look the slightest bit embarrassed, waving even more enthusiastically, but Louis felt embarrassed for him. He shifted away from him slowly so none of the band members could see him, but when he looked back down, he saw Harry’s eyes were on him. His gaze was intense, much like the past few times they’d been on Louis, and it was making Louis’ skin hot again. He fidgeted, trying to keep composed but he wasn’t sure what was going through Harry’s mind. 

Slowly, Harry made his way across the grass, standing right below the balcony as he continued to maintain eye contact with Louis. Everyone suddenly grew quiet, watching in curiosity. Harry cleared his throat, placing one hand on his chest and extended the other toward Louis.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East and _Louis_ is the sun,” he said, his voice loud and clear. 

Oh my God. 

_Oh my God_.

Everyone started whispering at once, murmurs and laughter growing louder and louder while Louis’ face reddened. He stared at Harry with his jaw hanging open. Behind Harry, his bandmates just looked amused. Harry’s expression remained serious, though, and he continued, louder than before to talk over the excited conversation around them. 

“Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief,” he continued. Louis felt a jabbing at his waist and looked to Niall, whose eyes were bright and confused. 

“What the _fuck_ is going on?” he hissed at Louis, who only shrugged helplessly. 

“Oh, it is my love!” Harry shouted, silencing everyone. “Oh, that he knew he were! He speaks yet he says nothing, what of that? His eye discourses, I will answer it. I am too bold, tis not to me he speaks. Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business do entreat his eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if his eyes were there, they in his head? The brightness of his cheek would shame those stars.”

Louis couldn’t help but laugh out loud, covering his mouth. This was _ridiculous_. What the _fuck_ was Harry doing? Why was he drunkenly reciting _Romeo & Juliet_ to him in front of all these people and how did he have this shit memorized?

“His eye in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how he leans his cheek upon his hand! Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!”

“Fuck, Harry,” Louis said, uncovering his mouth. “What are you doing?”

“He speaks,” Harry cheered. “Oh, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to the night being over my head as is a winged messenger of heaven.”

People started to clap enthusiastically, shouting for Louis to go downstairs and meet Harry. The tips of Louis’ ears were burning and he moved away from the balcony, taking some deep breaths. He was way too high for this. He could hear everyone still clapping for Harry, shouting his name and encouraging him to continue the monologue. By the time Louis made it downstairs and out the door Harry was standing by, everyone had calmed down. 

Harry’s face lit up upon seeing Louis, moving closer to meet him halfway. His hands were behind his back and he stood with his toes pointed inward like a pigeon. He was endearing and Louis was still blushing. “Jesus Christ, Harry,” he said, laughing softly. “What was that?”

“You didn’t come on Saturday,” Harry said in lieu of a response. “I waited and looked for you all night.”

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Louis said sincerely. “I wanted to, but I ended up going out with my friends.”

Harry nodded, but his eyes still looked sad and dejected. “I just really wanted you there. It was my birthday gig.”

“Your bir -- it was your _birthday_ that night?” Louis choked out. 

“Yeah,” Harry said shyly, grinning. “Kind of wanted to celebrate with you and get to know you a little bit more.”

Louis couldn’t even think. His brain was short-circuiting and he somehow didn’t know how to wrap his mind around the fact that Harry invited him over for his _birthday gig_. Not just that, but he’d been looking forward to it, waiting for him and searching for his face in the crowd. His pursuance of Louis was always overwhelming, but more so now. Louis still didn’t understand why _him_. Of all the people who showered Harry with attention, he wanted Louis. 

“I -- I don’t know what to say,” Louis said, licking his bottom lip. “I’m sure that -- that you had a lot of _admirers_ that night, anyway.”

Harry looked slightly confused, tilting his head to the side. “I don’t know about other admirers,” he replied. “I’m a little busy admiring you.”

That was cheesy as fuck, but Louis was swooning, a zoo erupting in his stomach. “So much so that you decided to serenade me with Shakespeare’s greatest?” 

“You inspire me.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I want to know you,” Harry admitted, smiling softly. “I’ve got to go now, though. I’ll see you around. Bye Louis.” Harry grinned as he backed away, waving his fingers and holding Louis’ gaze until one of his bandmates grabbed him and turned him around to face the way he was walking. Meanwhile, Louis stood there for another five minutes trying to calm himself the fuck down from everything that had just happened.

♫

It was raining on Sunday when Louis headed to work at the library. Thankfully, the walk was short, so he arrived there quickly, leaving his wet umbrella by the door and taking off his raincoat and boots, storing both away in the back to dry. He’d worn his biggest and softest University of Brighton sweatshirt that he’d gotten when he was still in sixth form, having just been accepted to the school. Below, he had on thermal leggings with his favorite black vans, allowing him to comfortably curl up in the chair at the information desk upfront. 

Sundays were typically slow. Louis had a whole cart of books to reshelve, but he was planning to do that at closing since the front desk couldn’t be left unattended. Patty, the other librarian who came in on Sundays, was held up at the monthly meeting where they discussed special events and ways to improve the service, so it was just Louis working today. He opened up his reading assignment and got to work. Occasionally, a few students came up with questions, and he tried to help them as best as he could. 

Near noon, Louis was snacking on biscuits while highlighting a few sections in his reading when a shadow loomed over him at the desk. Peering up, Louis was met with the sight of Harry, smiling despite the droplets of rain lingering on his curls. Louis sat back, finishing the biscuit in hand as he studied the other boy. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was giddy over seeing Harry. He looked like a monsoon in a dry desert, all wet and fresh and desirable. 

“Hi Harry,” Louis greeted, offering him a small smile. 

“Hey Louis,” Harry returned.

“How can I assist you on this fine Sunday?”

“I’m looking for some books,” Harry started. 

“Great, you came to the right place. We’ve got, as you can see, a ton of books.”

A giggled escaped Harry’s lips, eyes crinkling and nose scrunching. “Right,” he continued. “I was hoping you could help me find some.” 

“What books are you looking for?”

“Anything on opossums,” Harry replied. “Opossum sex, more like. I’d like to expand my knowledge on opossum reproduction.”

Louis raised an eyebrow at Harry, giving him a look that read _what the fuck_. Harry gestured to the computer in front of Louis, motioning for him to get on with it. Louis sighed, leaning forward and looking up the keyword ‘opossums’. Several books came up as suggestions and Louis wrote down the section and ID number of each on a post-it note before getting up from his seat and walking around the desk. 

“Come with me,” he said to Harry. “I’ll help you find them.”

He started walking toward the animals section of their library, which was on the second floor. At some point, he turned to see if Harry was still following, only to find his green eyes transfixed on Louis’ bum. Louis realized his sweatshirt had ridden up so the tightness of his leggings was giving Harry quite a show of his backside. He contemplated tugging his sweatshirt down, but he liked the attention so he swayed his hips a bit more.

“The books should be here,” Louis informed Harry, stepping between two shelves. 

Harry blinked at him, biting his lip roughly as he looked away from Louis’ bottom half. “Fantastic.” 

Louis sighed softly. “What are you doing, Harry?”

“What do you mean?”

“Here...with these books.” 

“I’m doing course work, of course,” Harry frowned. 

“You told me you’re a business student,” Louis reminded him. “What business class requires you to study the sex life of opossums?” 

“I’m taking an elective.”

Louis hummed, nodding his head, but he was still suspicious. He looked for the books and handed Harry each one once he found them. “These should help,” Louis said after Harry was holding five thick books in his arms. “Let me know if you need any more help.”

“Oh, I will,” Harry grinned, watching Louis walk away. Louis shook his head, smiling to himself as he went back downstairs. Moments later, Harry came down as well, putting the books on an empty table right by Louis. He winked at Louis and settled down in his seat, taking out a notepad from his worn, tan messenger bag, and actually opened up one of the books. 

He couldn’t believe Harry was actually doing research on opossum sex. What kind of elective was he taking? Then again, this wasn’t the weirdest thing Harry had done. After all, he could recite Shakespeare while drunk and Louis couldn’t even do that sober as a Lit student. He had to admit, though, that Harry calling him the Juliet to Harry’s Romeo definitely did something for him. _Romeo & Juliet_ was the first Shakespeare play Louis read. It had a special place in his heart.

“Hello.”

Louis startled, looking away from Harry to the student who was standing in front of him behind the desk. “Hi,” Louis said, clearing his throat. “What can I help you with?” 

“I need help finding a textbook for my Sociology course,” the student replied, offering a piece of paper to Louis with the information on it. From there, he got a bit busy, helping the student locate his book and then help someone else return their books since they were all overdue. It wasn’t until another thirty minutes later that Louis was able to study Harry again. 

He wasn’t alone now. There was a girl standing by his desk, talking to him animatedly, her cheeks flushed pink. Harry was grinning easily at her, biting the end of his pen as she told him whatever she was saying. He seemed charmed, and the attention he was giving was definitely doing something for her. As the day wore on, Louis noticed that she wasn’t the only one to stop by Harry’s desk. So many other people, guys included, approached Harry to have a chat with him and he wooed the pants off of every single one of them. 

It was interesting watching him and how he was with other people and in general. When Louis wrote that Harry was star material in his article, he meant it. There was something about him that made it so clear that he wasn’t meant to be an average guy. He was destined for far greater things. Anyone with eyes could see it and they couldn’t look away, not even Louis. 

But duty called and Louis got busy around the library. He lost sight of Harry into the night when the library was closing up. He wasn’t at his table and his books weren’t there either. With students trickling out and the place emptying, Louis went up to the library doors and locked them before taking out his phone from his bag and tugging on his headphones. Once he got one of his playlists going, he placed his phone in his sweatshirt pocket and put all the books he needed to reshelve on his cart before heading toward the bookshelves. 

When his playlist shuffled to a Megan Thee Stallion track, Louis couldn’t help but loudly sing along, moving his hips to it as he put books back where they belonged. He had the whole place to himself, so he wiggled his arse, shaking it to the beat, and did a fast turn only to fall back against the cart and shriek in surprise when he saw fucking Harry standing on the other side of the bookshelf with an amused grin on his face, watching him like this was the most entertaining thing he’d ever seen in his life. 

Louis pulled his headphones off and panted, trying to catch his breath. “Are you _fucking_ mental?” he asked. “Why would you just creep up on me like that? And I locked the door. How’d you get back in?”

“I never left,” Harry snickered, walking closer, his messenger back hanging over his shoulder. “I went to the loo.” 

“Fuck,” Louis said, clutching his chest. “You scared me to death, you know that?”

“I saw _that_ ,” Harry noted, extending his hand for Louis to take so he could help him up. Louis glared at him, but took his hand and got back on his feet. “You’re an amazing performer, if it helps.”

“Piss off,” Louis grumbled, turning his phone off because the music was still blaring from his headphones. “You weren’t supposed to see any of it.”

“Sorry,” Harry mumbled, still grinning. 

“You can’t tell anyone you saw me do that,” Louis threatened, trying to look as menacing as possible. 

“I would _never_ ,” Harry played along, sounding equally as dramatic. 

Louis bit his lip to avoid smiling at his reaction as he grabbed a book and headed down the aisle to put it in its place. Harry got the next one and handed it to him. They worked in silence for a bit just like the last time Harry showed up at the library before moving to the next section. It was like they’d formed a routine even though they’d only done this twice. Louis wondered why Harry was even here. Putting books away wasn’t a fun activity in any capacity, and yet, he was here doing it with Louis. 

“Did your research on opossum sex get you anywhere?” Louis asked after a while. 

Harry raised both his eyebrows and nodded, eagerly. “I found out quite a bit, actually.”

“You’re such a weirdo, you know that?” Louis laughed. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Louis shrugged, making his way around the shelf to the other side where he was able to meet Harry’s eyes between the books. “Not sure yet. I’ll let you know when I am.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve never met anyone like you, either, by the way.”

“Yeah, right,” Louis rolled his eyes. He wasn’t trying to be self-deprecating, but he knew when someone was full of shit. There was nothing _extraordinary_ about Louis. He was your run of the mill, regular lad. 

Harry shook his head as though Louis had just said the most absurd thing. “Don’t be like that. You’re so fucking special and I don’t have to know you that well to say this. You intrigue me, Louis. And I’ve never met someone as pretty as you. Can never take my eyes off of you.” 

Louis froze, book in mid-air as he gaped at Harry, their eyes meeting again between the shelves. There was a sparkle in Harry’s green eyes, even in the dim lighting of the library, and Louis was spiraling at his words. He was really starting to fall for this kid and that was ridiculous. He’d been gone for him since the night at Delilah’s, if he really wanted to be honest with himself. Louis had never seen him coming and that was throwing him off completely. 

Harry wasn’t just another guy that Louis hooked up with for fun in the back of the bar. He was special, that much was obvious. Louis was just struggling with wondering why Harry was here with Louis when Louis was just another person who was swept up in his superstar charm. It was confusing, but nice to be made felt special by someone like him. 

Lowering his gaze, Louis put the book in his hand away, walking back around to see Harry standing there quietly. “So you came back to tell me all this?” he asked him.

“No,” Harry said, voice gravelly and rough. “I came back to do this.”

In two strides, he was in Louis’ space, crowding him in. Louis’ hands drifted up to clutch onto the fabric of Harry’s shirt, holding himself steady while also bringing Harry close, letting his scent drift into his nose. Harry smelled lovely, citrusy, and sweet. His hand moved up to hold Louis’ jaw, dragging his thumb across Louis’ lip before dipping down to press their lips together. 

Louis let out a soft sigh, exhaling into Harry’s mouth and opening up for a deeper kiss. Harry sucked on his bottom lip, brushing their lips together in open-mouthed kisses before sliding his tongue in. They slowly walked backward until Louis’ back bumped against a shelf, steadying them as they continued to softly learn how the other tasted. Unlike their first kiss, this one wasn’t as desperate, more relaxed, like they had all the time in the world. Harry didn’t have to rush off to play a gig and no one would interrupt them. But last time, there had been a sense of urgency, too. Both were hard in their pants, wanting it to lead somewhere, whereas this time, they were content in just kissing each other. 

Harry nipped at Louis’ thin lips, making him expel the softest moans, which he’d typically be embarrassed about, but somehow didn’t seem to care because it only made Harry do it more. Kisses went from slow to frantic then back to slow, Harry licking into Louis’ mouth and sucking on his tongue. His hands drifted down Louis’ face to his arms, squeezing around his biceps before moving onto his waist where he held him firmly, letting them curve around to his back. 

“Wanna touch you all over,” Harry whispered against Louis’ lips. 

“Then touch me all over,” Louis responded, out of breath, but still chasing Harry’s lips for another long, drawn-out kiss. 

Harry smiled into it, letting his palms slink down until they grabbed onto the flesh of Louis’ bum. “ _Mmm_ ,” he moaned. “You look and feel amazing in these leggings. Wear them every day, forever.”

Louis burst into giggles, breaking their kiss and leaning his head back against the shelf while Harry palmed him. He had a stupid grin on his face, which he only put away when his lips ghosted down Louis’ jaw, sponging wet kisses down the side of his neck. Louis tilted his head, allowing Harry more access, and smiled to himself, letting his eyes drift shut.

He wasn’t expecting his usual boring Sunday shift to be this nice. 

♫

Much like the last time Louis was at Delilah’s, this week it was just as crowded due to the Sex Monarchy set coming up later that night. There were posters and flyers hanging all over campus the past week announcing that the band was going to be playing an additional three songs than their usual set number. Louis wasn’t sure how many were original songs, or how many were covers, but he wasn’t here to write about them tonight. He was here, essentially, as Harry’s guest. 

Louis hadn’t walked in for more than a minute before Harry’d found him. He had a bright smile on his face, lips wet from the drink he’d downed right before approaching him. His green eyes sparkled, as they always did, and he brushed his lips against Louis’ ears whispering, “Hi, you look so fucking lovely. Can barely take my eyes off you.”

From there, they’d moved to the bar where Harry bought Louis a shot and then a sidecar before leading him over to the table where the band was sitting, pre-gaming before their set. Niall and Liam had taken a seat with them since Harry had lured Louis away upon their arrival. The booth was a tight fit, what with four members of Sex Monarchy squeezed in with three additional guys, but Harry pulled one of Louis’ legs over his lap to make more room. Louis tried not to let it show how much he enjoyed their close proximity. 

They’d made out for hours at the library that night. Against the bookshelf, on the carpeted floor where Louis crawled on top of Harry’s lap, situating himself with both of his thighs on either side of Harry’s body. They continued to kiss while putting the rest of the books away, soft presses of lips between every section, and then even behind the Information Desk. Louis went home with numb lips and a flutter in his stomach. 

He wasn’t sure what he was doing with Harry, but it felt nice having someone be so attentive toward him. Harry was magnetic and attractive and Louis would be a damn fool if he said he didn’t feel the same way. They’d exchanged numbers at some point on Sunday and then Harry invited Louis and his friends to their gig on Friday. This time, Louis couldn’t skip out. He told the boys, who were really excited about it. 

“I can’t believe we’re having drinks with Sex Monarchy,” Niall gushed, beaming at Liam. 

Louis groaned, hiding his face in Harry’s neck. “Don’t be embarrassing, Ni. Play it cool.” 

“I think it’s cute,” Ed chirped, grinning at Niall and tipping his glass toward him in lieu of cheers. 

“Are you the one behind our official fan club?” Cara asked him. 

“No,” Niall shook his head. “But I am a part of the Facebook group for it.”

“You have a fan club and Facebook group?” Louis asked, more so to Harry than the band at large. Not that they were really listening, rather asking Niall about his favorite songs and suggestions for cover songs. 

Harry nodded, replying to Louis’ question. “Nothing huge, but it’s pretty cool.”

“Didn’t realize,” Louis said. “Which is weird considering I thought I did thorough research on the band before writing my article.”

“Did you listen to our songs on YouTube and Soundcloud?” 

Louis considered lying, but then shrugged, instead. “Sort of. I skimmed a few.” 

“Wow, you really hate our music that much? Is it so unbearable?” Harry asked, grinning through his words, his tone teasing. His hand slowly crept up over Louis’ thigh that was on Harry’s lap. It was a warm presence and Louis leaned into the touch. 

“It’s not unbearable,” he quickly denied. “I just like a bit more mellow type of music. Like, James Bay and Lewis Watson.”

“They’re great artists,” Harry agreed. “One of our songs is sort of slowed down like that.”

“‘Flower Boy’,” Louis nodded. “I’m aware of that one. I liked it. Your vocals are amazing.” 

“I’ll sing it to you tonight,” Harry said. 

“Thank you,” Louis said softly. “And just for the record, I may like slowed down songs, but that doesn’t mean your music is bad. I’m so sorry for, like, trashing it that first night. I’m such a dick, honestly. I think what you’re doing is incredible.”

Harry stared at Louis for a few moments, looking a bit stunned at his words, but he tilted his head to the side, curving his body to face him. “Are you saying that because we’re kissing buddies?”

“ _What_?” Louis sputtered out a laugh. “No, I’m saying it because I mean it.”

Harry grinned, putting an arm around Louis’ shoulders and bringing him even closer. “Well, in that case, you’re the sweetest.”

“Enough flirting, Styles,” Zayn leaned over, patting him on the back to get out of the booth. “It’s showtime.”

Harry didn't take his eyes off of Louis, who stayed exactly where he was, not wanting to move from his comfortable position. “Kiss me good luck for the show?” Harry asked. 

Louis giggled, sucking in his bottom lip and surveying the bar. It was clear they were the most popular booth, all eyes on them, and everyone was getting antsy for the show. Louis looked back at Harry again, holding his face delicately in his hands, his thumb grazing over his cheekbones before kissing him softly then pressing his tongue in. Harry emitted a pleased sound, kissing Louis back until Zayn patted him to move again. Breaking apart, Louis slid out of his seat and stood back while the band headed over to the stage. Louis sat back down and watched as they grabbed their instruments and took their spots. 

The lights dimmed except for the spotlight over Harry and they jumped right into the song, the noise ricocheting off the walls. Louis may like slow songs, but Sex Monarchy was starting to grow on him. Or maybe that was just the lead singer, who couldn’t keep his eyes off of Louis the entire time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very excited to know what you all are thinking of this so far! :)


	3. track three: between dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are really starting to pick up now. hope you enjoy :)
> 
> thank you to liz!!! for being an amazing friend and beta x

**march**

* * *

After waving goodbye to his co-worker, Louis stuffed his hands in his jean jacket’s pockets before walking toward the library’s exit. The campus was dark, save for the few lampposts lit up for students who were still lingering around. Not that there were many, especially in this cold weather, despite it being March. Louis always expected it to just suddenly warm up as soon as this month rolled around because by February the frigid air felt almost unbearable. Things felt dreary and dark, so he was looking forward to Spring and warmer and brighter days. 

As Louis walked across the library’s quad, he heard a soft, acoustic guitar strumming and his footsteps slowed. He glanced to where the melody had drifted from and funnily enough, it was Harry. He was perched upon a low stone wall that fenced around the library building. There was a lamppost right above his head, giving him a soft, bright glow just like a spotlight. And he was looking right at Louis, a warm, cheeky smile on his face. 

“What are you doing here?” Louis asked, walking over to him while holding on to the straps of his backpack and eyeing Harry’s guitar. He’d never seen him with an acoustic one before. Harry was so rock ‘n roll -- electric guitars and basses all the way. 

Harry plucked the strings of his guitar as he answered, “Oh, just hanging out.”

Louis raised his eyebrows, amused. “Just hanging out in front of the uni library while it’s dark and cold out?” 

“Yes, Louis,” Harry replied, pretending to be agitated by Louis’ completely _ridiculous_ question. “This is totally normal.”

“Right, if you’re a vampire, maybe.”

“Not a vampire,” Harry chuckled, shaking his head as he bent his head down and strummed out another note, and then another. Louis was mesmerized, watching Harry’s long fingers create a magical melody that was soothing to his very core. He was so talented and Louis wondered why he didn’t think so from the get-go. Maybe because back then Louis didn’t know Harry. He didn’t know the passion Harry had for the music he made and how far he wanted to go with it. Louis could see that now and he admired him for it. 

“I wrote a song,” Harry said, glancing up at Louis, his smile shy. 

“Congratulations,” Louis said. “The only productive thing I did today was organize the history section in the library, so you’ve definitely had a better day than I did.”

“I think that’s congratulatory worthy as well, so congrats.”

Louis waved him off, smiling sheepishly as he took a seat beside Harry. “So, are you going to play me the new song or are you the kind of person who needs their work to be perfected before allowing anyone else to hear it?”

“Uh, no,” Harry shook his head, staring at the guitar strings in front of him again. But he made no move to start the song, instead, his pick was poised and he was hesitating. 

“You sure?” Louis asked. 

“Yeah, I just -- I’m a little nervous, honestly.”

“Nervous? What for? You have nothing to be nervous about. I’m sure it’s brilliant.” 

“How are you so sure?” Harry squinted his eyes at him, his tone joking. “It could be shite.” 

“I won’t know unless you play it,” Louis pointed out. 

Harry took a deep breath, exhaling for several seconds. “Alright, here goes nothing.” He positioned his hand once more before closing his eyes and strumming out a calming melody. Louis was hypnotized watching Harry, taken immediately by the sound pouring out of his instrument. When he started singing, his voice was raw and natural, making it that much more beautiful. Even with the shakes and cracks as he sang, it was perfect. 

“ _And I’m drowning in those ocean blue eyes_ ,” Harry softly sang, eyes still closed as he let himself get lost in it. “ _Free fallin’, I’ve never been so sure of anything like this before._ ”

It occurred to Louis as he listened to the lyrics that maybe it was about him. He didn’t want to be vain, but it felt like it with several of the lyrics matching up to him. Still, Louis listened quietly through the end and when Harry was finished, Louis clapped, a big, bright smile on his face. 

“Beautiful,” he praised, his voice akin to wonder and amazement. “That was so good, Harry. Your songs don’t usually sound like that, so I was a bit surprised.”

Harry bit his lips, shy and pleased. “I wanted to try something new and this just came to me. I’m happy you liked it.”

“It’s lovely.” 

Harry’s green eyes sparkled under Louis’ compliments. Louis smiled at him, soft and curious, and he wished it wasn’t as easy as it was right now. He knew he was starting to fall for Harry. Hell, Harry probably knew Louis was melting right into his hands. He was confident and charming and so fucking hot. This really put a dent in Louis’ plans to not date right now. He didn’t want to get involved in anything, wanted to just have a lazy time and sleep around until he felt like putting in the effort for a relationship. 

However, he was getting ahead of himself. While Harry made it abundantly clear that he was interested in Louis, Louis wasn’t sure if he wanted anything serious, so he shouldn’t assume. Still, he might have written Louis a song and that couldn’t be all that casual. Harry once told Louis that he wrote about things he felt deeply about, that inspired him. He never wanted to write half-assed songs just for the sake of writing one. 

Their eyes gazed at one another for a few moments until Harry tilted his head at one point and asked, “Can I walk you home?”

“Sure, yeah,” Louis replied. He couldn’t feel his fingers anymore and he was sure Harry was faring the same. He picked up his guitar and faced Louis. 

“Lead the way.”

It was a short walk and Louis wished for the first time that it was longer. He didn’t quite want to say goodbye to Harry yet. They didn’t speak much during the walk, only a little about their days. Louis told Harry interesting stories from his shift at the library, while Harry told him a funny story from the band’s group chat about rehearsals. When they got to Louis’ building, Harry turned to face him once more, probably getting ready to say goodbye to him. 

“Do you want to come up?” Louis blurted out. 

Harry looked surprised, eyes wide as he licked his cold, chapped lips. “Really?” 

“Yeah, we could, like, order dinner and hang out.”

“I’d love to,” Harry answered, without a second thought. 

Louis tried to hide his beaming smile and turned to open the front door, leading Harry to flat 104. When he entered, it was quiet. Strange. There was almost always someone at the flat. And then Louis remembered that Niall had gone to a friend’s for a study group thing and Liam was at the movies with some people from the newspaper. 

“Come on in,” Louis said, moving further into the flat and allowing Harry to come through. He pulled off his trainers and gestured to the open room with his head. “I think we’re alone for the night. Boys are out.”

“Why, Louis,” Harry started to say, his tone teasing. “If I were to know any better, I’d say you brought me up here to seduce me.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “As if you didn’t start the seducing out there on campus, serenading me with a song about blue eyes.”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t beat around the bush.” 

So it was about _him_. Jesus Christ, Louis didn’t even know how to respond. He wished he could rewind to when Harry was singing the song to him so he could memorize every lyric and try to decipher what Harry was trying to tell him. Lost in his thoughts and attempting to remember the lyrics as much as he could, he didn’t notice as Harry got settled on his couch. 

“This is comfortable,” Harry observed, shifting around and feeling the sofa out. 

“Thanks,” Louis replied as he joined him. He’d have to think about the lyrics later. “What would you like to eat?”

“Really craving Chinese food. Is there any nearby?” 

“Just the one by school, but they do deliver here.”

“Sweet! Are you cool with that?”

“Yeah, I’m always down for Chinese food,” Louis said, pulling out his phone and searching the number of the restaurant.

“I’d like chicken and broccoli over white rice,” Harry said. 

Upon finding the number of the restaurant, Louis quickly made a call for delivery, asking for Harry’s dish of choice and then adding a chicken with garlic sauce over fried rice for himself. He placed his phone on the kitchen counter and joined Harry on the couch where he’d taken the liberty to turn the telly on, perusing the selections on Netflix. 

“See anything you like?” Louis asked. 

“A few things,” Harry responded, voice low as he concentrated on the menu on the screen. “Do you have any preferences?” 

“Uh, I’m not big on their movies. I like a few of the action and thriller shows, though. I’m also into their crime documentaries.”

“I saw one of them with Cara,” Harry said, turning to face Louis. “Super freaky since it’s not made up.”

“That’s the point of documentaries.”

“Are you telling me that they don’t freak you out?”

Louis shook his head, a matter of factly. “They don’t.”

“Alright then. Let’s watch _Evil Genius_ and if you’re not freaked out by the end, then my name isn’t Harry Styles.”

Snickering at that, Louis said, “Are you sure you want to do this? Harry Styles is a great rockstar name and if you lost that, then I don’t know if you’d fit the role anymore.”

“I can be a rockstar with or without my name, Louis!” He huffed dramatically, starting the first episode of the four-part series and the two settled down quietly, getting sucked into the show. Thirty minutes later when the food arrived and they both pitched in cash for their respective halves, they went back to sit on the couch and gorged on their food while continuing on with the show. 

By the time they got to the end of the second episode, their food containers were empty and on the coffee table in front of them. Louis felt full, content, and comfortable. Harry was great company as well, not too chatty while eating or watching shows, but just the right amount so it wasn’t completely silent or boring. He didn’t require constant attention. Neither of them felt like they needed to talk about things to get to know each other better, either. Louis always felt like that was some precursor for when he met new people and it just felt so clinical. He’d much rather let those conversations flow naturally.

As the third episode started, Louis glanced at Harry to find him already looking at him. Louis tilted his head to the side. “What’s up? Scared?”

“No, are you?”

“Not the slightest.”

“Guess I’ll have to change my name then,” Harry said drily while shrugging. 

“Yes, and I propose you change it to Harold Styles. I don’t want to disrespect your family by changing the last name, nor your fans who dream of being a future Styles after they marry you. So naturally, you have to change your first name.”

Harry guffawed, laughing hysterically and rolling until he was on his back on the other end of the couch from Louis. “I would rather die than change my name to that. It doesn’t fit.”

“I think it fits really well,” Louis argued passionately. 

He sat up again and when he did, his face was much closer to Louis than it was before. “Are you serious? You really think I look like a _Harold_?”

Louis looked back at him, eyes not wavering. “Yes, _Harold_. I think it has a nice ring to it, don’t you? Harold Styles. Say it with me.” 

“Absolutely not,” Harry shook his head, looking half-amused and half-repulsed. 

Being the little shit he was, Louis just moved further close to his face. “Harold Styles, lead-singer of Sex Monarchy. Love that.” 

Harry’s brows furrowed, lips twitching as he tried to hold in a smile. His eyes searched Louis’ before drifting down to his lips, which Louis only then realized was less than an inch away from Harry’s. It felt natural when Harry cupped the back of Louis’ neck and bridged that gap. Their lips froze upon touch, but only a second later did it deepen, the two of them parting their mouths and swallowing each other’s soft moans. 

It was starting to become a thing. Harry just showing up and the night always ending with them making out, but Louis would be lying if he said he didn’t want it to happen. Especially after he admitted to himself that he did have feelings for Harry. Not only was he a talented musician, a top-notch flirt, and utterly gorgeous, but he was also an exceptionally good kisser. His pace was always just right, lips always perfectly smooth. 

So far, they hadn’t gone past kissing. When Harry showed up at the library, they’d made out mostly with some over the clothes groping. While it was heated and Louis would have wanted nothing more than to rip the clothes off of Harry’s body, he knew there were security cameras in the building and he didn’t fancy making a sex tape on school property. Harry agreed and they left it at that. He waited while Louis closed up and they kissed by the doors outside for a few more minutes. 

Since then, they hadn’t done anything, but tonight there were no security cameras or roommates in the flat to interrupt them or get in the way. Louis hungrily pulled Harry closer, laying on his back and allowing Harry’s body to slot in between his legs, which he spread, twining them around Harry’s calves. Harry allowed Louis to maneuver their bodies, taking the moment that their lips disconnected to press wet kisses against Louis’ chin and down his throat. 

“Take this off,” Louis whispered while tugging Harry’s shirt. 

Harry peered up at Louis from his angle, pressing one last open-mouthed kiss on the crook of his neck before sitting up a bit to pull his shirt off. He studied Louis, who scratched his stomach, watching Harry unabashedly get naked. “It’s only fair that you take off yours, too,” Harry said, pointing to Louis’ shirt. 

The thought of skin to skin contact with Harry propelled Louis into action. He tugged his t-shirt up over his body and Harry helped him pull it over his head. The two of them looked at each other for a second before Louis pulled Harry back in. Their lips attached and a soft sigh escaped Harry’s lips. Louis ran his fingers over Harry’s bare back. His skin was soft and goose flesh was erupting over every inch that Louis touched. 

Making out all night didn’t seem like a bad idea, but Louis was hard and he couldn’t help but arch up into Harry to try to get some friction there. Harry whined into his mouth and Louis understood why ̶ Harry was hard too. Their lips tore apart, a string of saliva connecting them, and they stared into each other’s eyes before grinding against one another. The two of them moaned simultaneously, overwhelmed, and eager as they moved in sync together. 

“Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ ,” Harry chanted, his face hidden in the crook of Louis’ neck, breath warm against his skin. “You feel so good.”

“I haven’t done anything,” Louis pointed out. 

Harry lifted his head up and looked at Louis, eyes dark and glazed. 

“Yet,” Louis added. His hands reached down between their bodies and thumbed at Harry’s jeans button. “Can I?”

Harry nodded and Louis didn’t waste a second, unbuttoning his jeans and unzipping them in one movement. Louis pushed back until Harry was against the back of the couch and then helped him tug his jeans off. His fingers trailed and stroked upward over the hard line of his cock before slipping inside and taking it out. Harry’s breath stuttered as Louis stroked him, hardening him up further and collecting the precum at the top to slick up his movements. 

A litany of curses escaped Harry’s lips and Louis shifted forward to kiss him. Harry’s hands came up to curve around Louis’ face, holding him close and licking into his mouth. Louis tried focusing on both tasks, his thumb swiping over Harry’s slit as he stroked him fast and smooth. His breath hitched and Louis could tell he was getting close. He broke their kiss, letting his lips drag across Harry’s jaw, biting down gently. He pressed soft kisses all the way to his neck and then up, settling on a spot behind his ear. He sucked on his skin, biting down a lot harder this time. It was that that pushed Harry over the edge, coming over Louis’ fist and shaking below him, his eyes shut tightly. 

It didn’t take him a second to recover as he maneuvered Louis onto his back and then reached for his jeans. He took them off, tugging them out of the way along with his boxers. Louis spread his legs invitingly and Harry pressed soft kisses along his thighs until he was right beside his hard, curved cock, laying over Louis’ stomach. 

Harry admired it for a few seconds, stroking it in his fist before he swallowed him down eagerly, and Louis bucked up, cursing. “ _Holy shit_ ,” he breathed out. Harry placed his palms over Louis’ thighs, holding him down and he smirked at him under his lashes, his tongue flattening on the underside. 

“So does this mean we’re a thing now?” Harry asked, his mouth popping off with a slick sound and replacing it with his hands that expertly stroked Louis. 

“A thing?” Louis panted, trying to understand why Harry was having a conversation with him when he should be focused on making Louis come. 

“Yeah, it’s been a few times we’ve chilled.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by _a thing_ but I’ll say yes to anything you do or say right now.”

“That’s a lot of power.”

“Use it wisely,” Louis hissed when Harry’s other hand grabbed onto his balls, fondling them like it was just a casual thing. 

“I think I’d like to be a thing with you, Louis,” Harry smiled as he moved his body up and leaned down to kiss him. Louis melted into the kiss, his arm coming around to keep Harry in place. But Harry cut it short to crawl back down Louis’ body again. “Want you to come in my mouth.”

And who was Louis to deny Harry anything right now? He had all the power after all. Harry’s tongue was as smooth as velvet, sucking Louis down like he was born for it. His mouth was warm and inviting and Louis was already declaring this the best blowjob he ever had without having come yet. When he finally did, in Harry’s mouth as requested, he felt boneless and sated. Harry crawled back up Louis’ body and Louis reached up to stroke his cheek and then kiss his nose. 

Harry hummed, almost like a cat, and he kissed Louis’ lips, stealing his breath once more. 

♫

Louis’ next article was due in exactly two hours and he was still not done with his second draft. With his course load getting heavier, the long hours at the library, and the added element of Harry in his life, he hadn’t had a day to himself for his writing. This was the first time he wasn’t ahead of his deadline with the school newspaper, so he was slightly panicked. He could see several of the writers in the newspaper meeting room chatting jovially over coffee with no worry over their deadlines. Liam was one of them, having finished his article the night before. Taylor was currently at her desk going over edits to send back out to everyone. 

Keeping his head down, Louis focused on the words on the screen. He was on a roll until he felt a presence beside him. Someone who smelled like Hugo Boss cologne. Louis frowned. “What do you want, Liam? I’m stressed. This article is nowhere near ready.”

“You’ll be fine,” Liam appeased him. “Your first draft is usually good and Taylor will give you an extension.”

“I’m not going to ask her for one and I’ve never sent anything in until the third draft so I won’t start now.”

“Take a break. It’ll help because you’ve been at it for an hour straight.”

Groaning, Louis slumped back in his chair. “Do you need anything?”

“No, but I wanted to ask you about Harry.”

Louis felt his cheeks heat up at the mere mention of the other boy. He tried to appear nonchalant out of self-respect for himself. This was _not_ a thing. “Okay?” he said slowly, staring at his computer screen. He just had three more paragraphs to read and then he’d do another edit before emailing it to Taylor. 

“Well, are we just going to ignore the fact that I found you guys in the flat the other night looking well fucked and all that? Which, by the way, is _disgusting_. I really hope you weren’t messy. That couch is for everyone in the flat, Lou. It’s a communal space.”

“Would you relax?” Louis hissed, embarrassed at being caught and at the prospect that someone in the room might overhear. He and Harry had wrapped it all up and were sitting far apart by the time Liam had come home. He didn’t realize they had a glow, or whatever the fuck Liam was referring to. 

“I’m just wondering if there’s something going on between you two. Are you dating, or what?”

Liam was clearly bored and clearly looking for some sort of gossip. Journalism and reporting were truly in his blood. Louis leaned forward on his chair, ready to get back to writing. “Nothing really. We’re just hanging out.”

“I call bullshit!”

“Alright, settle down. I’m not sure if we’re dating seeing as how we haven’t gone on any dates, but we’ve done things, I suppose.”

“Would you say you’re headed in the direction of dating?”

Louis rubbed his temples. He was developing a headache from this conversation. “I don’t know, Liam.”

“I’m just saying because I’ve heard horror stories about dating musicians. They’re very wishy-washy. All over the place. Completely unpredictable. Can’t really rely on them, you know what I mean?”

“No, not really. I’m so confused by this conversation,” Louis said, turning to face Liam. “Are you giving me a dad talk, or what?”

Liam burst into laughter. “I’m just fucking around. But I do mean what I said about musicians. You should tread slowly.”

Louis scowled, his fingers already moving over his keyboard. “I’ll do what I want, Payno. Now piss off. I’ve got an article to finish.”

♫

Liam had a point.

Sex Monarchy was popular, but Harry was clearly the more popular one given that he was the lead singer and member. Girls and guys flocked to him, doing and saying whatever they needed to get his attention and keep it. It was obvious before, but it was glaringly obvious now when Louis was sat in his booth at Delilah’s watching a number of people come up to Harry to buy him shots before his gig started. It just annoyed him a little because Harry had gone up there to get Louis a drink. 

That was thirty minutes ago. 

Louis couldn’t even be mad. On the one hand, Harry had looked over multiple times to mouth apologies to Louis and telling him he’d be there soon. Louis understood people's attraction to Harry. He was captivating and you wanted nothing more than to have him look at you and talk to you, even if it was for a little while. 

He kept thinking about Liam’s warning from the other day. Dating a musician wasn’t easy. But Louis didn’t even know if they were dating. Hooking up a few times and being attracted to each other didn’t equate to dating. They were just a _thing_ as Harry said, and maybe that was all that they ever would be. Harry might not be in this to get a boyfriend. He might just be in it for some fun and orgasms, which was fine. However, if it were to ever be more, Harry would never completely be his, Louis realized. He would always have to share Harry with everyone else. 

Harry had texted him at some point earlier that week asking him to come to the show and to bring Liam and Niall with him, which Louis did. Liam was chatting with some girl he had a class with and Niall was backstage with the rest of the band. They’d left Louis alone with Harry to give them some time to themselves, but that ended as soon as Harry got up from their booth. 

To avoid looking like a complete loser, Louis pulled out his phone and began checking his texts, replying back to the ones he’d forgotten to. It took Harry another ten minutes to make it back to their booth and he looked frazzled, cheeks flush from the number of shots he’d taken. 

“Louis,” he breathed out. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone for so long.”

“It’s okay,” Louis quickly said. 

Harry passed over a glass of vodka and soda to him, looking apologetic anyway. “Have you been alone this whole time?”

“It’s really fine,” he said, taking the drink and sipping it with a small smile. 

“It’s not,” Harry shook his head. “I called you out tonight and I’ve been a terrible host.” 

“Yeah, but those people you were talking to came here for you tonight as well.”

Harry’s face lit up in a smile, a bit sheepish as he said, “It’s crazy when I think about that. Like, these people could be doing anything tonight and they came to see us play.”

“You’re telling me that you haven’t wrapped your head around the fact that you’ve got fans?” Louis said with a teasing tone. 

Harry shrugged, smiling bashfully. “Sometimes it hits me when I’m on stage as well and so many of them are singing the words back to me. That’s the most surreal thing because we haven’t even got anything on Spotify or Apple Music. Nothing downloadable. People just listen to whatever performance we put up on our YouTube page and listen to that over and over, learning the lyrics.”

“You write them yourself, don’t you? Niall mentioned that you and Ed co-write.”

“Yeah, I do. I usually come up with the idea and the bulk of the lyrics. Ed takes a look and if something inspires him, he adds it in, and it’s always brilliant.”

“Where do you get your ideas from?” Louis asked curiously. 

“For our songs?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well, from the ones that we actively perform, an array of different places. ‘Flower Boy’ is about this guy I met when I went on holiday to Italy after sixth form. I was with my mum and sister. We were walking past the Trevi Fountain and this really cute guy came up to me. As cheesy and fake as this sounds, he handed me a rose, which seemed to come out of thin air.”

Louis’ mouth dropped open. “What?”

Harry grinned, nodding his head. “It’s true! You can ask my mum. He asked me out on a date after he gave it to me. Mum wasn’t having it. She was like, you’re not going out with some random person. I snuck out, though. Gemma covered for me, and it was sweet. He kissed me at the end of the night and I never saw him again.”

“That is really, really sweet. Can’t say any cute lad just came up to me and handed me a rose, but guess we can’t all be that lucky.”

“I’ll buy you a rose,” Harry whispered to him, leaning his body closer until their faces were mere inches apart. His eyes dropped down to Louis’ lips for a moment before looking back up to his eyes. “I’ll buy you a hundred.”

Louis blushed, ducking his head down to hide his face. “What about the other songs?”

“The other songs...let me think. Okay, so ‘Naked Turbulence’ I wrote after I slept with this guy I knew. It was a friends with benefits situation. I actually wrote ‘Unfortunately Cryptic’ about him when I couldn’t figure out where our relationship was going.”

Louis felt himself grow a little jealous at that and quickly reminded himself that it was silly. He didn’t even know Harry back then, but still, his heart clenched at the thought of him with someone else. “Does he know you wrote those songs about him? Like is he someone you still see?” he asked. 

“No, he graduated last year, so I don’t see him anymore,” Harry replied. “And he did know about them, but we never discussed it.”

The way he explained it gave Louis the impression that whoever it was wasn’t important to Harry anymore, so it made Louis feel slightly better. 

Harry continued, “Then there’s ‘Hedonistic Fiasco’, which was more Ed’s writing than mine. It’s just all about giving into guilty pleasures and doing what you want. We were having this conversation about how so often people hold themselves back from doing certain things because they don’t want to give in no matter how good it feels, so that’s how that song came about. And ‘Our Condolences’ came about after the band was having a conversation about what we wanted to represent and be as a band if we continued this. We love what we’re doing. Each of us are dedicated and want to see this going somewhere. We want to make art that actually means something.” 

Louis hummed, thoughts running over Harry’s words. “Do you think you’re doing that? Making art that actually means something?” he asked.

Harry’s expression turned thoughtful, and he pursed his lips as he mulled over his words. “I mean, I think so,” he eventually said. “When people are singing back our lyrics to us, it makes me feel like we’ve created a kind of art that means something more to them than just a song they heard at the bar whilst getting drunk on a weekend night.”

“I agree,” Louis said. “I think that when all these people look back at their life in a couple of years, they’re going to think back to nights like these. Music has this ability to always take people back to a certain moment in their lives. So when they hear these songs on the radio one day, it’ll bring them right back to here.” 

“I’ve always loved that about music as well. I like how it helps us preserve memories, moments, and people no matter how long it’s been, even if those people aren’t in our lives anymore.”

“True, but now I can’t listen to Hozier without thinking about my ex, so that sucks,” Louis said, clicking his tongue before taking another sip of his drink. 

Harry looked surprised. “None of his music?” 

“His album was all we listened to when we hung out at his flat,” Louis explained. “So now if I hear his songs, it reminds me of that the whole time. Anyway, I don't really want to talk about him. Do you have other songs? I’d love to hear if you’re comfortable sharing.”

“Yeah, I do,” Harry said, smiling. “Tons. I write them all in my journal, but they’re still super rough, so you can’t judge me.”

“I wouldn’t think of it.”

The two of them continued to chat until it was time for the show. Louis gave Harry a lingering kiss for good luck and he was off. Tonight, Louis didn’t feel like sitting down and watching. He wanted to experience what everyone else did whilst being front row with Harry singing right in front of them. Excusing himself from the booth where his friends had returned, Louis maneuvered his way through the crowd until he was standing up front right where Harry was singing. The band was already two songs deep into the set, so Harry was in the zone. However, when his eyes landed on Louis, his lips spread into the biggest smile. 

He began to sing the lyrics directly to Louis and it was hilarious because they were on ‘Naked Turbulence’, the one about sex. It was dirty the way Harry seduced the mic, writhing against it and holding it close between his legs whilst looking directly into Louis’ eyes. The implication was there and everyone could see it. Toward the end of the song, Harry was on his knees, reaching his hand out to Louis. Warmth spread through his cheeks as people cheered when he took Harry’s hand in his. Harry grinned, squeezing it three times before standing up and getting ready for the next song. 

Louis stayed where he was, enjoying the view as he lost himself in the music and Harry who looked over at him more times than not. He was glad he’d decided to come up here because seeing them from this vantage point was a lot different than sitting in the booths or tables. Once again, Louis found himself eating his own words of disdain that he’d had for this band initially. After the performance, they stepped off, immediately going backstage with their equipment. Louis went to his booth only to find his best friends gone. 

Not wanting to sit back down again, Louis wandered over to the bar where he waited on the side to order himself another drink. He didn’t even notice Harry walking straight for him, his face bright and his eyes alight. 

“Hiii,” he crooned into Louis’ ear, immediately engulfing him in a hug with his arms around his waist. “You came up to the stage.”

Louis laughed, wrapping an arm around Harry’s broad shoulders to hold him close and also to hold himself steady. Harry had him pressed against the bartop, practically lifting him off the ground. “I did. I thought I’d get the full experience.”

Lifting his head up, Harry licked his lips as he looked at Louis. “And what did you think?” 

“It was alright,” Louis shrugged only to start giggling right away as Harry tickled his waist. 

“Tell me what you really thought.”

“Okay, okay,” Louis squirmed, trying to worm out of Harry’s hold despite it being fruitless. He was panting heavily by the time Harry relented. Louis hugged him again, both of his arms holding him this time. “I loved it. You guys were amazing. _You_ are a star, Harry Styles, and I love watching you shine.”

Not even a second later, Harry’s lips pressed against Louis’, kissing him deeply right there in front of everyone. Louis let out a surprised sound against his lips, but kissed him back, trying not to think about people staring. He’d always been a bit wary of PDA. He wasn’t a big fan, but there was a thrill in doing it with Harry. Maybe because of how new and exciting it was being with him. This bar was filled with people who wanted Harry, but he was kissing Louis and he wasn’t being shy about it. 

His lips were urgent but soft like he didn’t know if he wanted to take his time or devour Louis right away. As he swiped his tongue against Louis’ lower lip, he trailed one of his hands down to squeeze Louis’ bum. Louis let out a soft moan, opening his mouth, and Harry deepened the kiss right away, his tongue sliding in with ease. It grew filthy within seconds and Louis felt himself completely forgetting their surroundings, wishing so badly that they were home and alone. 

“You lot need to tone it down a couple of notches,” came a voice from beside them. 

Harry’s lips separated for a moment from Louis’. “Shut up, Zayn,” he mumbled, barely sparing the lad in question a glance. He went right back to kissing Louis, this time covering the side of their faces that faced everyone with his hand so that no one could look. Louis was more than happy to keep going until they both needed a break to catch their breath. 

Smiling at the other boy, Louis marveled at how much time had passed and they’d just stayed in their own little bubble. “So, does hearing compliments really get you going or what?” he asked, half-joking, half-curious. People had praise kinks, after all. 

Harry laughed, shaking his head. “It’s not...it’s not the compliment part. I just like that you believe in me.” 

Cocking his head to the side, Louis narrowed his eyes. “Everyone here believes in you.”

“It feels different with you. I’ve never been with someone who thought I could make it,” Harry explained. “It’s always felt like they just sort of shrugged it off. The dreams I have almost feel too big for them like they’re not possible and I’m just wasting my time or have my head too far up in the clouds. But you make me feel like I’m not crazy and that these dreams could actually mean something. Your compliments are sweet, sure, but they feel genuine too. Like you’re not just saying them to say them. You’ve made it plenty clear what you thought of the band before.”

They both laughed this time. “I’m sorry you’ve only been with wankers all this time, then.”

“All a part of the journey, I guess,” Harry said, not looking too bothered by it. “Gosh, did it really seem like I was being a narcissist, completely nutting at you complimenting me?”

“For a moment there, yeah,” Louis replied. 

Harry laughed again, hiding his face in the crook of Louis’ neck. “Why don’t you head back to the booth? I’ll get you another drink.”

“Sounds good,” Louis said. Slipping out of Harry’s arms, Louis met up with his friends once more and they piled into their booth, discussing the girl who Liam was chatting with earlier. When fifteen minutes had gone by, Louis glanced back at the bar to see that it was still crowded. He couldn’t spot Harry and wondered if he was there. It was after another fifteen minutes that Harry came over, his bandmates following. Liam, Niall, and Louis scooted in to make space, allowing them to squeeze in. 

“So sorry,” Harry said, his cheeks flushed. 

“More fans?” Louis asked. 

“No, actually. It was a talent scout from Timeless Records.”

Louis gaped at him, Niall and Liam following suit. “A talent scout?” Louis asked to be sure. “Did he hear your set? What was he doing here?”

“He did,” Harry nodded, unable to hold in his big smile. “Apparently, he saw some stuff about us on Twitter and Instagram, liked what he heard from a few people posting videos of our shows online. He saw that we had a show here tonight and decided to come to watch it.”

“Holy shit, Harry,” Louis said, hugging him. “That’s huge!” 

“It gets better,” Cara said, her face split into a massive grin. “We’ve got a meeting with their team this upcoming week.”

The whole booth started cheering together and Louis couldn’t help but join in. Everyone started talking and shouting at once, excitement and adrenaline buzzing through their veins. As Louis watched everyone, Harry included, who was shouting about wanting to order shots so that they could get spectacularly drunk, a thought occurred to him. He could feel it somewhere in his chest that everything was about to change. 

♫

Louis stood in front of the mirror by their front door, checking himself out once more. He messed around with his hair, straightened his jean jacket, and pressed down on his white t-shirt underneath to smooth it. He heard a snicker from the doorway that led into the apartment and he glanced over to find Liam standing there looking too chuffed for Louis’ liking. 

“Don’t be creepy.” 

“I’m not trying to be,” Liam said, putting his hands up in surrender. “I just think it’s cute that you’re going on your first date with Harry.”

“It’s not a date,” Louis huffed. “We’re just hanging out on the pier.”

“It’s definitely a date.”

“Just because it’s going to be only me and Harry doesn’t just classify it as a date. He didn’t say it was going to be a date.”

“You don’t always have to say it. Sometimes it’s just understood.”

Fussing with his jacket’s collar, Louis thought back to Wednesday night when Harry had come by the library during his shift to ask him to hang out at the pier that Saturday. He hadn’t phrased it like it was a date, but he also didn’t phrase it like it was two lads going out for a pint. He did text Louis a day before that said he had some good news, but couldn’t share just yet. It was confusing, but Louis didn’t want this weighing down on him and ruining the whole night. Harry was due to show up at their flat any minute and Louis didn’t want to freak out now wondering if the outfit he wore was date-worthy or not. 

As if summoned by Louis’ thoughts, a knock came at the door. Liam quickly walked back into the apartment and left them on their own. Louis took a deep breath and opened the door, mouth dropping open at the sight of Harry on the other side with a bouquet of roses in his hands. 

“Hi, Lou,” Harry smiled in greeting. 

“Hi,” Louis replied, still gaping at the roses. “What are these?”

“Flowers, silly. They’re for you. Told you I’d get you roses.”

Louis was still gawking and Harry only looked at him fondly, stepping closer to press the roses between their chests as he kissed him softly in greeting. Sighing into the kiss, Louis reached for Harry’s hand, pulling back after a moment. “This is really sweet, Harry. Thank you,” he whispered. 

Harry kissed him once more before handing them to him. “Do you want to take them with you or keep them here?”

“I’ll keep them here so they don’t get ruined. Give me a minute.” Louis rushed inside the flat to find Liam looking way too smug for Louis’ liking. 

“Nice flowers,” he said. 

“Shut up and handle them, please!” 

“Handle them?”

“I don’t know,” Louis replied frantically and breathlessly. “I’ve never had a guy give me flowers before, so I’m not sure what to do with them. My mum usually puts flowers in vases. Do we have one of those?”

Liam laughed, throwing his head back. “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out and won’t let anything bad happen to them. Go on and enjoy your date, yeah?”

Louis finally took a breath and nodded. “Okay, yeah.”

The air was breezy when Louis and Harry made it to Brighton Pier. They’d taken the bus, chatting idly on the way about their days. Louis told Harry about the coursework he did, an article he was working on, and what he made for lunch. Harry filled Louis in about chatting with his mum, making tea, and a song he was working on. When the bus came to their stop, Harry reached out to touch Louis’ wrist on the pole to let him know. Louis realized with a start that the bus ride had gone by so fast and he barely remembered that they were on it, too lost in the conversation with Harry. 

“Are you hungry?” Harry asked as they walked around toward the pier. “Should we get some food first?”

“Yes, please,” Louis agreed. 

“Alright,” Harry grinned. “Why don’t you grab us a bench and I’ll be back with some munchies?”

Harry headed to the fish and chips shop, the only decent thing around really, and Louis stared at his retreating form for a minute. This meant Harry was paying for the food. Was this really a date? The flowers should have been a dead giveaway, but paying for someone’s food definitely sealed the case. Louis took a deep breath and walked around the crowded pier for an empty bench. By the time he found one, Harry was already back, handing Louis his portion of the food. 

“Thank you,” Louis smiled, taking his seat and getting comfortable. “Good call on choosing to come here. The weather’s actually nice for once.”

“I know, it’s been a minute since it’s been this nice around here,” Harry hummed, taking a handful of chips and dipping them in his sauce. “I love just spending time here. It never gets old.”

“Same. The lads and I come at least once every other week.” 

“What are they up to today?”

“Liam’s at home, I think he’s got an exam coming up so he’s revising. Niall went to a mate’s place and I think they’re doing a pub crawl tonight.”

Harry hummed, finishing chewing his food before speaking again. “Are you and Liam going to join?”

“I don’t think so,” Louis replied. “Not big on pub crawls as much as I used to be.”

“They do get tiring, don’t they,” Harry laughed gently. 

Louis nodded, looking at Harry carefully. “You haven’t told me about your meeting with Timeless Records. It was yesterday, right?”

“It was, yeah,” Harry smiled, cheek dimpling. “It went really well. We met with the guy who came to the show. His name’s Nick. There were a few others there, and we all did introductions first before playing our demo for a little while.”

“What did they think?”

“I was shocked, but they really, really liked it.”

“Why were you shocked?”

“I don’t know. I mean, we only have a handful of originals and we’ve barely built a catalog. We have so much more to learn, but they liked it a lot. They think we have a lot of potential…”

“And?”

“We got signed, Louis,” Harry said, voice quiet and full of disbelief but happiness at the same time. “They gave us a record deal.”

“Harry,” Louis said, nearly throwing his food up in the air so he could lean forward and hug Harry. “That’s amazing! Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Harry smiled shyly. “It means a lot. I haven’t told many people yet.”

“Well, I’m honored to be one of the first. But wow, this is huge. I wish I could hug you right now.”

“A kiss would do.”

Louis blushed furiously, leaning forward at the same time as Harry and meeting him halfway. He tasted salty from the fish and chips, but still Harry underneath it all. Louis pressed several kisses on his plump lips, making the last one drag on for several seconds more. When Harry leaned back, his cheeks were pink as well. “Best congratulations ever.”

“Anything for you, superstar,” Louis chuckled. “I can’t believe you got signed.”

“I can’t either. They’re coming up with this whole plan for us. Lots of tours, promotional tours, recordings, and an album.”

“You’ll be so busy,” Louis realized, tilting his head to the side. “Does this mean you’ll be done with uni?”

“For now, I think,” Harry said. “I was speaking with my mum about it this morning. I’m going to take a leave, and so are the rest of the band. There just won’t be time for everything. We’d definitely flunk if we stay, and honestly, the goal for all of us was this anyway.”

“When you know, you just know. School can often feel like a formality. Not every career requires that degree.”

“Exactly. Ed has always wanted to play music, same goes for Cara. Zayn wanted to finish if only to appease his family, but they’ve been really supportive of his choices. It was the same for me. I’ve always loved music but came to uni because I didn’t want to sit around and not do anything. It turned out for the better since this band formed and we were able to get to this point.”

“All of your dreams are coming true,” Louis marveled, smiling softly. 

“They are,” Harry responded, matching his expression. 

“Did you speak to the school yet?”

“Not yet,” Harry said. “I think we’re waiting on one more meeting with the label to figure out timing and then we’ll do it so we know for sure it’s official.”

“Makes sense. So, what did your mum say? Is she thrilled?”

“She’s kind of shocked. I don’t think she was expecting me to call randomly and tell her we got a record deal and I’m leaving uni,” he laughed. “But yeah, she is happy. She kept talking about how she always thought I’d end up being a singer, or some sort of performer. I used to put on shows for the neighborhood kids. I sang Shania Twain songs on top of a box that was my stage and made them all watch me.”

Louis burst out laughing as did Harry, who looked slightly embarrassed at having to admit that. “I wish I got to see that. Where’s home, anyway?”

“Holmes Chapel. That’s where my mum lives. My older sister, Gemma, lives in London. She graduated and has been working as a freelance writer.”

“That’s sweet,” Louis said. “A family of writers.”

“What about you? Do you have any siblings?” Harry asked him, placing his empty food container on the bench between them. 

“I do. They’re in Doncaster. I’ve got five younger sisters and a younger brother as well. Two sets of them are actually twins,” Louis said. 

“Can I see pictures of them?” Harry asked, smiling. Louis nodded, shifting closer and pulling his phone out. As he finished his meal, they both swapped pictures of their families and a few of themselves from back home when they were younger. Harry cooed at all of Louis’ siblings, mentioning how they’re all pretty just like him. Harry, Gemma, and his mum, Anne, were all identical as well and it was hilarious and adorable at the same time. 

After throwing out their trash, the two of them walked along the pier, forgoing the rides and the games and heading straight for the beach. Harry had reached over, holding Louis’ hand, and making butterflies erupt in his stomach at the simple, innocent touch. Their laced hands swung between them as they took in their surroundings. They reached the water but didn’t get too close because neither wanted to get their shoes wet. 

The sun was starting to set and it was all so obviously a date and Louis couldn’t help but feel giddy about it, but also silly for thinking otherwise. Harry nudged him after a moment. “What are you smiling about?”

Louis hummed, turning so he was facing Harry and reached for his other hand to hold. Closing the space between them he smiled, blinking up at him. Harry smiled back, green eyes sparkling against the colors of the sunset. “Just thinking about what a good time I’m having with you,” Louis replied honestly. 

“I’m glad,” Harry replied. “Wasn’t sure where our first date should be but thought this would be a good spot.”

“You thought right. Now, there’s a wonderful sunset, we’re on the beach, and the night is slowly coming to an end. You going to kiss me, superstar?” 

With his cheeks dimpling and turning a sweet shade of pink, Harry lowered his head and pressed his lips against Louis’. Louis couldn’t describe the feeling inside of him, but it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It was like he was standing on a precipice of a mountain and the moment Harry’s lips touched his, he was free-falling straight down. Once again, he forgot about the crowds and it was just them there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you all thought!! x


	4. track four: foggy van windows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh i've been gone a month but I come back with 3 ch!!! hope it makes up for it. :)
> 
> thank you to liz!!! your midnight editing and comments mean everything to me x

**april**

* * *

Over the last few months, as Louis got to know Harry and attended his shows at Delilah’s, he got to know the rest of the band members as well. Cara was a complete badass who could stand her own, and also a great chef. Louis would do anything for her tacos. Ed was quiet but really funny and great to party with. Zayn was also quiet, but unlike Ed, he was a bit harder to get to know. He mostly kept to himself and seemed a bit mysterious. Louis didn’t really know what his deal was and kept out of his way most of the time. 

That was until one sunny Sunday morning when Harry asked if Louis, Liam, and Niall would come out with them to help put up a few flyers. The band’s record label had assigned them a manager since they didn’t already have one. Her name was Perrie Edwards and they all sang her praises to him saying that she was a complete sweetheart. The first thing Perrie did was book them a festival gig out in Crawley. Louis had heard about Impulse Festival but hadn’t had a chance to go until now. Louis was the first and only person on Harry’s list of guests, which made him feel quite important and special. He was never put on a guest list before. 

To announce their performance and get some word of mouth going, not only had the label plastered it all over social media, but there were flyers up everywhere in the cities near Crawley. Harry thought it’d be fun if they covered Brighton themselves just for old time’s sake since that was one of their methods of bringing in crowds at the bars they performed at. Louis had agreed right away, always keen on seeing Harry even if it was early on a Sunday morning. He was surprised when Liam and Niall joined as well, saying they wanted to help out in any way they could.

For efficiency purposes, everyone split up into pairs and they all collectively decided that Louis and Harry couldn’t be together otherwise they’d never be done putting the hundreds of flyers up. They were convinced that the two “lovebirds” would be too distracted and time couldn’t be wasted. Louis wanted to argue, but he supposed they were right, however, he tried to act as offended as he could. Harry was reluctant as well but gave Louis a kiss before Louis walked off with Zayn, his partner for this task. 

It was quiet at first. The two of them walked down the streets and put up flyers on the poles and lamp posts along the way. They also asked a few shop owners if they were okay with one or two flyers on their walls and windows. For the most part, they did allow it, and soon they were down to half their stack. Zayn stopped at some point, leaning against a pole they’d just added a flyer to. “Mind if we take a break? I could use a smoke.”

“Sure,” Louis nodded, leaning back against a car parked on the street. He hoped it wouldn’t start beeping from his weight or movement. 

“Do you want one?” Zayn asked, pulling his cigarette box out and taking one for himself. 

Louis watched him for a moment, contemplating his decision before eventually nodding. “Yeah, sure, thanks.”

“Didn’t know you smoked,” Zayn commented as Louis took one out of the box. 

“I smoke sometimes, but not usually. More of a social thing for me, honestly.” 

“Harry hates it,” Zayn snorted, putting his pack away and taking out his lighter. He lit Louis’ cigarette and then his, taking a long drag before exhaling. Louis did the same, watching Zayn carefully to figure him out. 

“Does he?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Zayn nodded. “Always makes me take a breath mint before I get close to him after.”

“Guess he won’t want to kiss me after this,” Louis replied as he took a drag himself. 

Zayn chuckled, glancing at Louis. “I don’t know. He seems pretty crazy about you. Think he might change his tune, just this once.”

Louis shrugged sheepishly even though his stomach was doing flips at that comment. “Don’t even know how to respond to that, to be frank.” 

“Are you embarrassed by it?”

“Not embarrassed,” Louis shook his head. “In shock, I guess? Surprised and all that.”

“Why’s it surprising?”

“It’s weird, don’t you think? Maybe it’s me,” Louis explained. “I can’t take compliments, usually. I’m not good at it.”

“Alright, well I’m not complimenting you,” Zayn replied. “I just think it’s important you know that I’ve never seen Harry like this. I don’t think any of us have. You’re all he ever talks about since you’ve met. I think you’ve got him under some sort of spell.”

Embarrassingly enough, Louis could feel his cheeks heating up. “You’re definitely not complimenting me if you’re accusing me of sorcery.”

Zayn laughed, his eyes crinkling, and Louis had to admit that he was really beautiful. He’d always thought as much, but it was really hitting him then. He also wasn’t too bad to chat with. Clearly, he was a good guy. Maybe it took him a while to open up to new people. 

“Look, I don’t want to go all big brother on you, but I am quite protective of Harry,” Zayn said. “Be careful with him, yeah? He’s sensitive underneath all that grunge shit. He doesn’t let you see it, but it’s true. I know getting hurt is inevitable and I’ve seen him hurt before, that’s not the point. The point is, I’ve never seen him this into someone before so if he were to get hurt from this, it would crush him.” 

Louis focused on finishing his cigarette as he thought over Zayn’s warning. Obviously, he wasn’t with Harry to hurt him or mess him around. If anything, Louis was afraid his heart would be crushed and split into pieces from all of this. However, bar all of that, it was nice to know that Harry had a group of people behind him who really cared about him. 

There was a brief period of time when Louis didn’t really know if he wanted to get to know Ed or Zayn considering that one time at the bar when they stole his shots. However, when he thought back on it in hindsight, the whole thing seemed so juvenile and silly to bring up. Yeah, it was annoying at the time but if he brought it up now, he’d doubt they’d remember and it would just be awkward, so Louis never did. It was important to Harry that Louis got to know the rest of the band because they were his people. Harry didn’t have a lot of friends outside of this. He kept his circle small, but he would do anything for him. It was nice to know that the feeling was mutual. 

Louis took one last drag of his cigarette, dropping it on the ground and stubbing it with his toe. “Noted. And if it’s any consolation, I also feel the same way.”

Giving him the first real smile since they’d met, Zayn nodded. “Nice to know. Shall we get going?”

♫

Louis studied the festival crowd from where he was standing, watching as people danced, drank, and chatted with their friends while Sex Monarchy performed. They were halfway through their set and so far night one was going fabulously. Louis had arrived at Crawley early that morning with the band in their van and they immediately came to the festival venue, which was essentially a large, open field with a massive stage on one end. It was overwhelming how many people were there, but rewarding watching a crowd that was at least ten times larger than what Delilah’s could hold enjoying the music! 

Harry had requested that Louis stand side stage so that once they were done, Louis would be the first person he saw. It was sweet and romantic, and Louis just nodded, giving him a kiss for luck, as usual, before he hit the stage. From where he stood, Louis had a good view of the band and the crowd, eager to see their reactions to each of the songs. For some reason, it meant a lot to him now that people liked them and were giving them a shot.

A couple of reps from the label as well as Nick, who scouted them at the bar, were there, standing not too far from Louis. Louis tried his best to not get in their way, but couldn’t help but glance over a few times to gauge their reactions as well. They were impressed by the looks of it, drinking beer and chatting amicably amongst themselves. So far, everything was going great and Louis tuned back into the show as the current song finished. 

The band launched into the next one seamlessly, a cover that they didn’t usually do when they played bars. Timeless Records encouraged them to do a cover just so the crowd had at least one song they could sing along to, meaning it had to be one that was popular and known. Harry was stumped as were the rest of the members. The festival hosted a number of bands and musicians, all ranging in genres, so the choices were endless which was what made it hard. 

In the end, to Louis’ surprise, they went with “Call Me Maybe”, which Liam had so graciously told them was one of Louis’ guilty pleasure songs. He couldn’t deny it. It was all Louis listened to when it came out, a slave to pop music and Carly Rae Jepsen. Harry thought that was adorable and it was decided. They’d rehearsed for days and nights in this warehouse they rented back in Brighton, wanting to do their absolute best for the festival. Louis provided them with snacks and coffee, and in turn got to watch them hone their craft, getting better and better every time. 

The crowd was jamming out, everyone singing and dancing along. Louis couldn’t help but smile and mouth along to the words. He looked at Harry, who held the mic closely as he sang. “ _Hey, I just met Lou. And this is crazy_ ,” he crooned, mischievous eyes seeking out Louis. “ _So here’s my number, so call me maybe._ ”

Bursting out in laughter, Louis shook his head with a fond expression. He was falling for a complete fool. 

Soon, the set came to a close, and Harry introduced himself and the band once again, letting the crowd know who they were and to keep an eye out for them as they released their own music. They were met with loud applause as they bowed. Within moments, Louis had an armful of Harry, who was hugging him tightly. He laughed, holding Harry just as tightly. Harry pulled back, out of breath and sweaty. “That was amazing,” he gushed. “ _Fuck_ , that was the most fun I’ve ever had. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that while performing. It was something else.”

“You were all amazing,” Louis said. “I don’t think any of you messed up once. It all went so well! And the people from the record label looked happy.”

“Did they?” Harry asked, glancing over. The reps were currently chatting with Ed and Niall while Zayn and Cara were taking a smoke break not too far off. 

“They did. They were back here the whole time and looked like they were enjoying themselves. I couldn’t hear their conversation, though.”

“That’s such a relief to hear. I was so nervous about what they’d think.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Louis assured him. 

Harry grinned, kissing him again. “Honestly, I can’t even begin to explain how I feel. I’ve never felt a post-performance adrenaline rush like this.”

Louis lifted his eyebrows. “Do you need anything? Water, or a drink?”

Harry looked at him for a moment, eyes wide before leaning down to seal their lips together in another kiss, this time deeper. Louis let out a muffled sound in surprise before melting into it, his hand coming up to rest on Harry’s jaw. Harry panted against his lips harshly. “Need you,” he whispered. 

“What?” Louis asked dumbly. 

“Need you so much, Louis,” Harry said to him, pressing hot kisses on his lips. “Can we get out of here?”

“Now?” Louis asked. “What about the reps? All of your stuff?”

“The reps can talk to the other guys and they hired people to handle our equipment. _C’mon, Lou_.”

“Where do you want to go?” Louis asked, laughing as he looked at Harry in bewilderment. He had no idea what had come over the other boy, but he’d be lying if his sudden need to have Louis right then and there wasn’t doing something to him as well. 

Harry smirked at him, confident and playful. “Follow me.” He held out his hand to Louis who easily took it. The two of them wound their way through crowds of people - other bands, managers, friends of the bands, and fans who snuck their way in - as they left backstage and headed toward the parking lot that was sectioned off for talent. It was where the band had parked the van. 

Trusting Harry, Louis allowed him to lead. He’d follow Harry anywhere he asked him to if he was honest. It was much quieter out here and not a single person was around. They weaved their way through cars, vans, and trucks before finding theirs. Unlocking the back, Harry finally looked at Louis. “Is this...is this okay?” he asked, suddenly looking uncertain. 

Louis looked inside the van. The only proper seats were upfront for a driver and a passenger. The back was empty, mostly to put equipment into and sometimes to carry all of them from place to place. For their ride up, the label had offered to bring the instruments and equipment for them, so they’d all driven the van over. Louis had sat in the back with Harry, tons of blankets on the floor to make it soft for sitting and a couple of throw pillows they’d gotten from Harry’s mum’s place a while back. 

Looking back at Harry, Louis smiled shyly and stood up on his tiptoes to kiss him square on the mouth. Harry’s hands immediately wrapped around Louis’ waist and they lost themselves in it, swaying from side to side. Louis could feel Harry’s energy thrumming in his veins and emanating off of him. He was shaky, eager, and warm. Pulling apart, they both got inside, closing the door behind them and locking it for safety measures. Lying back, Louis looked up at the ceiling of the van until Harry hovered over him, blocking his view. 

He reached out his arms, wrapping them around Harry’s shoulders, and pulled him down into another sinful kiss, wet and heated. Louis let out soft whimpers and sighs every time Harry nipped his bottom lip or sucked on his tongue. Harry’s hands wandered down Louis’ body, dragging down his chest, resting over the curve of his hip, and slipping underneath his shirt to run over his warm skin. 

“You’re so gorgeous,” Harry whispered to him, lips trailing down Louis’ jaw, dotting his skin with soft, open-mouthed kisses. 

“Don’t have to flirt with me anymore,” Louis said, teasingly. “You’ve already got me.”

“Have I?” Harry asked, lifting his head to look at Louis. “Got you?”

Nodding, Louis traced a finger down from the corner of Harry’s eyebrow to his cheekbones, moving along his perfect jaw, and then his neck. “As if it wasn’t obvious.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got me. All of me,” Harry said to him like it was a promise. 

“Luckiest lad in Brighton, I am,” Louis laughed, a flush creeping up his neck. He wasn’t sure what exactly they were saying to each other, but it was true. He’d be lucky to have Harry in any way he could have him. 

“And I,” Harry began, sitting up beside Louis. “Am the luckiest lad in the world.”

“You say too much,” Louis said, slightly embarrassed as he softly shoved him to the side. 

Harry laughed, voice raspy and high. “I’m getting hot so I’m taking my shirt off.” He lifted his loose, black tank top off and put it aside before lying back down, his torso covering Louis’. “Now, where were we?” 

“You and your obsession with flattering me with words,” Louis said, rolling his eyes and pretending to be put off by it even though all it did was make the butterflies in his stomach swarm madly. 

“Well, just because I’ve got you doesn’t mean I can’t shower you with praise. I could spend days just writing songs about you,” Harry whispered, his eyes studying Louis’ face like he was memorizing every detail from this close. 

Louis lifted his hand to cup Harry’s face gently. “What would you write about?”

A slow smile spread across Harry’s lips. “I’d start with your hair...it’s soft and I want to run my hands through it all the time,” he said, leaning forward to kiss Louis’ hair where his fingers were tangled. “Then I’d probably write a whole song about your eyes. Find every word to describe the color blue because you invented it with just your eyes.” He kissed each eyelid as Louis closed them. “I’d write about your cute nose and these cheekbones that would put Greek gods to shame.” 

A kiss to his nose and then each of his cheekbones. 

“I’d write about your lips and how I’d be content with just kissing them for the rest of my life,” Harry continued, his lips pressed against Louis’. Louis let out a soft sigh, his lips parting to deepen it. Harry didn’t linger for too long, kissing his way down Louis’ chin and to the crook of his neck. “I’d write about your neck and how much I want to mark it up. Especially right here.” It was where Louis was most sensitive and he couldn’t help but moan as Harry nipped and sucked on the spot, breaking the skin and bruising it. 

When he was content with the mark, Harry continued downward, helping Louis take his shirt off before kissing down his collarbone and stopping right before his left nipple. Sticking his tongue out, he teased it until it puckered. “I’d write about how sensitive you are to every touch, every kiss, especially here.” Harry punctuated his words by flattening his tongue over the entire nipple and then sucking it between his lips. 

“Fuck,” Louis hissed, his toes curling. He was rock hard in his jeans and desperately wanted to take them off for some relief, but Harry was taking his time, moving over to the other nipple and sucking on that as well. Once he was satisfied, he continued downward, kissing over Louis’ stomach, lining them along his hips. “Perfect, so _perfect_ ,” he whispered. 

He finally reached Louis’ belt buckle, quickly taking it off and helping him tug his jeans down. His underwear got caught along with it and Harry ended up pulling those down as well until he was stark naked. Putting his pants to the side, Harry continued pressing open-mouthed kisses along his thighs, both outside and inside. 

“Could write probably a whole album about this cock,” he grinned impishly. 

“Oh, _shut up_ ,” Louis groaned, covering his face and laughing until Harry licked a stripe up the length of his hard cock and sucked it into his mouth. “ _Harry_ , please.”

He was desperate to come, but Harry pulled off, clearly not done. He jerked him off a little before sitting back on his haunches. Kissing down Louis’ knees, he sucked marks on Louis’ calves of all places and then pressed soft kisses on his ankles. “Love your ankles,” he remarked, taking off Louis’ Adidas sneakers. 

“My ankles?” Louis asked. 

“They’re so delicate,” Harry nodded. 

Louis flushed, feeling his face burn. He wasn’t used to anyone talking to him like this, or treating him so delicately. The anticipation of what was to come kept growing and Louis didn’t know where Harry was headed now that he’d gone head to toe. 

“Want to flip over for me, baby?” Harry asked him as if he could hear his thoughts. 

Louis took a sharp intake of his breath and shakily nodded. He slowly rolled over onto his stomach, holding himself up on his elbows. He felt Harry kissing him along the backs of his calves and thighs until he reached his bum. Louis stopped breathing for a second, wondering what Harry would do. 

“Your bum,” Harry whispered. “God, I’d write poetry about this.”

“Harry,” Louis warned, his voice quiet. 

Harry hummed, his hands palming his cheeks before spreading him open. Louis closed his eyes as he felt Harry press his tongue right up against his hole. He let out a slow moan, completely going lax beneath him. As if spurred on by his reaction, he felt Harry lapping over the ring of muscle, spitting over it and sucking. Louis’ moans and whimpers echoed in the van and he wondered if anyone was outside, if they could hear him. Harry didn’t seem to care, getting lost in eating Louis out and sliding his tongue inside his hole. Louis couldn’t help but rub up against the floor, searching for friction against his cock and when he felt himself come close to coming, he realized he didn’t want to come this way. He wanted Harry inside of him. 

“Wait,” Louis said, turning to look at Harry over his shoulder. Harry immediately stilled, blinking up at Louis, concerned. “I don’t want to come like this.” He rolled over until he was on his back, spreading his legs and reaching out for Harry. Harry crawled between his legs and smiled. 

“I wasn’t done,” he said. 

“With what?”

“Telling you all the things about you that I’d write songs about.”

“Well, you got a bit distracted, didn’t you?”

Harry nodded, dipping down to kiss him on the lips. “Just felt so good, I couldn’t help it.”

Louis groaned against his lips, wrapping his legs around the backs of Harry’s thighs. He rolled his hips up to rub against Harry’s still clothed cock. He was hard behind his jeans and Louis was anxious to see it. “What else was left?” Louis asked him. 

“The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine.”

“Poetic for sure,” Louis murmured against his lips. 

“Mhmm,” Harry nodded. “And then I’d write about how you make me feel.”

Louis broke the kiss, looking at Harry carefully, a little shy. “How do I make you feel?”

“Like I’ve never felt before with anyone else,” Harry admitted, voice quiet. “You’ve got my heart banging against my chest, like it’ll jump out of my skin if I can’t have you now.”

“Then take me,” Louis whispered back. 

Harry didn’t move right away, instead searched Louis’ face for reassurance that this was something he wanted. It wasn’t the most romantic to have sex in the back of a van, but this moment felt right and Louis didn’t really care where they were. He knew he wanted Harry - all of him. Sitting back, Harry dug through his pants until he found a condom in his wallet. 

“No lube?” Louis asked. 

“In my backpack,” Harry laughed, crawling over to where they’d lined their backpacks against the back of the driver and passenger seats. He came back to Louis with a small packet of lube and the condom and worked on getting his own pants off. 

Once he did, Louis eyed his cock appreciatively, noticing the length and girth of it, before looking up at him. “How much time do we technically have before the others start coming back?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” replied Harry. “I’m pretty sure they’re getting high right now and watching the rest of the acts.”

It took a bit of maneuvering around before they found themselves in comfortable enough positions to continue. Harry kissed Louis while he worked him open, taking his time with one finger and slowly sliding in a second and then a third. Louis barely felt pain or discomfort because of how lost he was in the taste of Harry’s tongue on his. He’d already been quite worked up what with Harry kissing every inch of his body. Just remembering brought a flush to his skin. 

When he felt he was ready, he broke the kiss and nodded at Harry. Harry sat back and rolled the condom over himself, using up the last of the lube to slick himself up. He lined himself with Louis’ hole before slowly pushing in. Louis inhaled sharply at the intrusion, the stretch of it bringing him completely still. Harry’s fingers were one thing, but his cock was another. Noticing Louis’ reaction, Harry took Louis’ cock in his fist, slowly stroking it as he leaned back down to kiss him. Whilst distracting him, he slowly pushed in until he bottomed out. 

“Are you alright, love?” he asked against Louis’ lips. 

Louis’ brows furrowed as he tried growing used to the stretch and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”

They started moving together, slowly and then fast, building up momentum until the van’s walls echoed with the slap of their skin and the grunts and moans slipping past their lips. While the stretch felt overwhelming at first, it was something else now. Louis’ eyes were shut tight in pleasure and he felt himself getting closer and closer to the peak. 

He’d had good sex before. Sex that blew his mind and completely rocked him when he came. Somehow, sex with Harry inside this old van seemed to surpass all those. It was on another level, _they_ were on another level. Harry rolled his hips so expertly, hitting Louis’ spot with every thrust. Louis clenched down on his cock every single time, making him grunt as he panted in the crook of Louis’ neck. 

“So close,” Harry whispered. “So fucking close, _baby_. Can you come for me at the same time?”

Louis could only nod, speechless and breathless. Harry’s hand came between their stomachs as he fisted Louis’ cock in his hands. He stroked him in time with each of his thrusts and the two of them came with a shout, panting as they shook through their climaxes. Slipping out of Louis, Harry turned and laid down on his back beside him. The two of them stared up at the van ceiling, trying to relax their racing heartbeats. Louis noticed, for the first time, that the windows in the van were all foggy, hiding them. Slowly, they turned to look at each other simultaneously, and the mirroring made them both laugh. Inching closer until they were shoulder to shoulder, Louis brushed his lips against Harry’s. 

♫

A weekend away from home had put Louis back quite a bit in terms of his coursework and newspaper article assignments. He’d stayed all three nights in Crawley, rooming with Harry at a hotel that was comped by the label, and attended the festival to watch the band perform. Now, he was back in the real world. Going to classes was disorienting because of his lack of sleep. They’d arrived early Monday morning and Louis ended up sleeping at Harry’s for a couple of hours because he couldn’t find the energy in himself to go back to his flat. 

Waking up next to Harry was sweet, though. Harry was a total cuddler, his body always finding a way to touch Louis’ overnight. One morning, Louis woke up to Harry spooning him from behind, another morning he woke up to Harry draped over him like a koala, and then this morning, it was Louis spooning Harry. It was with those sweet memories in mind that Louis trudged through Monday. When he got back to his flat, he took a nap and woke up an hour later, recharged and ready to tackle all the coursework he’d put off that weekend. 

“Shall we order some takeaway?” Niall asked idly while looking in their fridge. 

Louis didn’t look away from the essay he was typing on the screen. He’d spread out on the floor in their living room, using the coffee table for his laptop and books. “We don’t have groceries, do we?”

“Nope.”

“Alright, well what are you in the mood for?”

“Something unhealthy,” Niall replied. “Do you want burgers?”

“I could be down for burgers,” Louis responded, still typing. He had a couple of readings left to do and a maths assignment, which shouldn’t take too long. After that, he had two articles that he owed Taylor, though those weren’t due until the end of the week. 

Niall went to grab his phone from his room to place the order, telling Louis that Liam was going to be on his way back to the flat soon so they could have dinner together. Louis hummed in response, not allowing anything to break his focus. Just then, a knock came at the door. Niall reappeared out of his room with his phone in his hand and went to answer the door. 

A chorus of loud greetings followed and Louis finally looked up, curious to know who’d arrived. He was met with the sight of Harry walking in, cheeks bitten red from the cold outside. He grinned upon seeing Louis and rounded the couches over to him before ducking down to kiss Louis hello. Louis smiled, watching as the rest of Sex Monarchy walked through, all of them chatting animatedly with Niall. 

“What are you all doing here?” Louis asked Harry, watching as he took off his coat. 

“I was whining about missing you too much so the others took pity on me. It’s okay we’re here, right?” he asked, eyes curious. 

“Yeah, of course,” Louis grinned. “Niall was just going to order dinner, so you’re right on time.”

“Alright, well, why don’t you finish up whatever you’re working on and I’ll go put this away,” he replied, gesturing to his coat. “What’s for dinner?”

“Burgers and chips,” Louis answered. 

“Perfect.” Harry walked away, wrangling the rest of them and telling them to hush so Louis could do his coursework. It was effective as they all gathered around the dining table, chatting much quieter with Niall. A half-hour later, he did a quick read-through before submitting his paper and it was just on time as the bell rang with their dinner. 

Louis let the others get everything sorted at the dining table while he went to his room to put his things away. When he got back, Louis saw that Harry left an empty chair beside him for Louis. Smiling, Louis sat down and pulled the curly-haired boy in for a kiss, this time a proper one. He could hear the groans and the gags from everyone, but it only spurred him on to pull Harry in closer, who was happy to oblige, sliding his tongue along the roof of Louis’ mouth.

As they dug into their meals, Cara piped up from the other side of the table. “Can we tell them about our news yet?” 

“What news?” Liam inquired.

“We had a meeting with the label this morning,” Harry told them, glancing over at Louis briefly. He had his arm slung around Louis’ chair, sneakily pulling him closer and closer until they were pressed next to each other. “They’re really buzzed about the positive reaction from the festival, so they’ve asked us to go on a two-week tour in Europe with another band.”

“You’re going on tour?” Louis asked, eyes wide as a slow grin spread across his face. “ _Holy shit_!”

Everyone started talking excitedly at once until Niall interrupted loudly. “Wait, with which band?”

“They’re called Utopia,” Harry replied. “I heard a few of their songs before. Very indie and quite good. They’re mid-tour at the moment, but still, want us to open for them.”

“Are you going to do it?” Niall asked. 

“Yeah, we’ve said yes,” Zayn chimed in. “It’s fucking sick, mate. They’re going to really start marketing us with ads and promo to reach a broader audience.” 

“Well, this calls for cheers! Congratulations, guys,” Liam said, raising his drink. Everyone raised theirs as well, cheering before taking a sip. “When do you leave?”

“We’re going to play our first show at the start of next week,” Harry replied. “It’s really soon, so we have to start rehearsing right away.”

“Good thing you did a whole lot of that for the festival,” Louis said. 

“That’s not all, though,” Harry continued. “They want us to start on the album right away, so I’ll be writing probably every moment that we’re not on stage.”

“What about the songs you’ve got already?” Niall asked. “Those are good.”

“The label will put those out after the album releases. Sort of like a B-Sides thing to drive more sales and give our fans a taste of who we were before all of this,” Ed explained. “We can actually have studio versions of them, finally, which I’m fucking stoked for.”

The conversation continued as the band listed each city they’d be performing in, what songs they were choosing, and their outfits. Louis was tuned in for most of it as he ate his dinner, but it started wandering the moment he started thinking about the fact that Harry was essentially going to be gone for two weeks. Unlike the festival performances, which happened during a weekend, Louis wasn’t going to be able to join him because he had classes and other responsibilities, like work. 

It was sort of a bittersweet realization. This was a massive deal for Harry and the band. Their dreams were coming true, but part of the dream involved them not being here. Musicians never stayed still for long. They were always moving, as Liam had once warned Louis. Louis must have gotten really lost in his thoughts because when he felt Harry’s lips press against the spot below his ear, he startled. 

“Sorry,” Harry said, smiling easily. “Didn’t mean to scare you. What are you thinking about?”

“Just excited,” Louis said, half-lying. “I’m so happy for you, H.”

“I’m really happy too,” Harry said, leaning in to kiss him. 

And that, Louis thought, was what really mattered. Harry being happy and finally living out his dreams. 

♫

Louis’ bedroom was cast in shadows from the tree outside of his window. The curtains were drawn open and the lights were off. He was leaning back against his headboard with his legs stretched out while Harry laid out on the opposite end, his journal and pen in hand, but his gaze fixed on Louis. “Thanks for letting me stay over,” Harry said. “I’m sure you’re sick of me after spending the whole weekend together.”

Smiling, Louis kicked his foot out lightly, nudging Harry’s thigh with his toe. “If I were sick of you, I wouldn’t have said yes.”

Harry grabbed Louis’ foot, massaging it with his one free hand. “It’s weird, but I just...didn’t want to spend tonight without you. I think I got spoiled having you all to myself for the last three days.”

“Moving quite fast there, Styles,” Louis teased. “We’ve only just slept together and you’re trying to move in with me.” 

Giggling, Harry squeezed Louis’ big toe. “Shut up,” he grumbled jokingly. “You were quite resistant at first if you don’t remember. It took me weeks to just get you to properly warm up to me. If that wasn’t the case, I’d have put the moves on you months ago.”

“Poor baby. Not used to working for it, huh? Just so used to having people throw themselves at you.”

Harry nodded solemnly, making Louis laugh. The two of them grew quiet, listening to the wind blowing outside. After dinner, they decided to celebrate. Niall ran down to the shops and came back with several cases of beer. No one got crazy drunk, but everyone was buzzed and happy. However, Louis felt like he was still digesting the news. 

“I wrote a song about you,” Harry said suddenly. Louis blinked at him. “Actually, I wrote a bunch of songs about you.”

“You wrote songs about me?” Louis asked, voice incredulous. “How much did you have to say?”

“We’re not getting into that again,” Harry giggled. “Otherwise we’ll get distracted, although I wouldn’t mind...”

Louis blushed at the memory of their night in the van. “Not quite yet. Tell me about the song. Or...songs.” Harry still hadn’t said anything to Louis about the song from the night in front of the library, so Louis thought maybe that one wasn’t for him. Hearing this admission just shocked him. He’d never been someone’s muse...never had a guy write anything about him. Then again, he’d also never really dated the writer type before. 

“Well, some of them are a bit choppy. They’re not quite finished. There is one, though, that is coming together and I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Would you...would you sing it for me?” 

Harry bit his lip, mulling over his request. “I don’t know. I’d want you to hear the finished product.”

“Drafts can be really good too sometimes,” Louis pushed. 

“Well, okay...maybe just the beginning,” he replied. Harry sat up, putting his journal down and grabbing his guitar, which was propped up at the end of the bed. Placing it on his lap, Harry adjusted a few strings while Louis sat patiently. He began strumming a melody, sweet and light. As he began singing, Louis felt gooseflesh rising on his arms, his heart racing at the words pouring out of Harry. 

“ _I never saw you coming, could never make you up if I tried_ ,” he crooned, eyes shut in concentration. His voice was raspy but deep, and completely perfect. “ _Straight from my dreams, I can’t believe my luck._ _There’s no words, no space, no time to tell you how I feel about you_.”

When the song finished, Harry slowly opened his eyes, blinking at Louis. He looked nervous, eyes searching Louis to figure out what he was thinking. Louis had completely stopped breathing for a second, floored by Harry’s admittance, his feelings, and he didn’t know what to say. Words didn’t usually fail him. He was good with words, and yet, he was stuck right now. He was completely speechless, so he relied on actions. 

Leaning forward, Louis took the guitar gently from Harry and placed it on the floor beside the bed. Getting up on his knees, he crawled closer to Harry before placing his palms on the other boy’s shoulders. Their eyes locked and Louis leaned down to kiss Harry on the lips. Harry’s hands came up to grab Louis by the waist and pull him in until he was sitting on his lap, allowing Louis to wrap his arms around Harry’s shoulders and kiss him harder. 

There was no rush to it. Louis wanted to take his time to let Harry know that he loved the song...that no matter what happened going forward, good or bad, this was a moment he was going to save in his happy memory bank and replay it on lonely, rainy days. Harry could go on to become the biggest rockstar and maybe he’d forget Louis, the boy he once wrote songs about, but Louis - Louis was always going to have this and that would be enough. 


	5. track five: your bed in april

**may**

* * *

The tour bus was blocking nearly half of Harry’s street, massive within the narrow block and amongst the smaller cars. It had gone around and picked up the other band members from their places before making its way to Harry, who’d arrived at his flat minutes before, sleep ruffled and slightly grumpy from lack of sleep. He was arriving from Louis’, where he’d been more or less living since finding out about the tour. They didn’t plan it, but the longer Harry stayed over and their tour date got closer, it became harder for them to say goodbye...so they just didn’t. 

Louis still attended classes, still had coursework to do and articles to write, while Harry spent his mornings meeting with the people at the label with the rest of the band and working on songs. However, the nights were for them. They laid in Louis’ bed and spent hours just talking and kissing. The band had their first studio session a couple of days ago to record “Our Condolences” and the sheer happiness and delight on Harry’s face filled Louis with warmth. He never thought someone else’s happiness would mean so much to him, but Harry was different. 

In hindsight, Louis knew they weren’t exactly the strongest couple if you could even call them that. They hadn’t exactly had the relationship talk, but Louis also hadn’t seen or dated anyone else since January. Harry admitted to Louis one night while they were in bed that he hadn’t wanted to even look at anyone else since he’d met Louis and that was the closest they’d gotten to confirm what they were to each other. 

So, in a way, they were exclusive without saying it, which was fine, Louis supposed, given their circumstances. However, it’d been five months since everything started and while Louis liked to take his time with relationships and didn’t like rushing into anything, this was probably the longest build-up in history and he knew a part of it was due to him resisting Harry at first and now Harry’s crazy upcoming schedule. This tour was only for a couple of weeks, but it would only get busier after that. There was so much more coming. 

This was all new to Louis. He never expected someone like Harry to come crashing into his life. He never expected to fall for him the way he was. But he was falling - deeply and with his eyes closed. He felt his heart pang in his chest as he watched Harry bring out bags of clothes from his flat to the tour bus. After having Harry in his bed next to him for the last week, Louis didn’t want to watch him leave. He had to, though. If he showed any sort of emotion that wasn’t happy or proud then Harry would leave sadly and Louis didn’t want that. 

As Harry gave the last of his belongings to their driver, he turned and walked toward Louis, who’d been standing off to the side. Harry had his long hair pulled up into a high-top bun as he hadn’t had a chance to shower that morning. They barely slept last night, taking their time with each other, and Louis could still feel the intensity of it in his bones and the sore love bite on his neck. Harry had on a pair of his old joggers, one of Louis’ grey t-shirts, and his leather jacket on top. 

“Thanks for coming to see me off,” he said, stopping in front of Louis and crowding him in against the wall of the building. 

“Of course,” Louis said, standing up on his tiptoes to wrap his arms around Harry’s shoulders in a hug. Harry pressed his face in the crook of Louis’ neck, hugging him around the waist. They stayed close for a few moments and Louis’ stomach flip-flopped at how much Harry smelled like him right now. “You’ll do amazing, yeah? I’ll be cheering you on from here.”

“Wish you could come,” Harry mumbled. “I’ll miss you so much.”

“I’ll miss you too, babe,” Louis replied. 

Harry’s lips were on his in the next moment, hard and insistent, before smoothing out into gentle pecks with soft strokes of his tongue. Louis moaned quietly into the kiss, his hand coming up to hold the back of Harry’s neck and bringing him closer. He didn’t know how long they stood there, but eventually, the bus driver started honking. They broke apart, lips wet and swollen as they panted and looked at each other one last time. 

“I’ll call you,” Harry said. 

“Okay.” Louis tried smiling reassuringly even though he wanted to do nothing more than drag Harry back into the safety of his bed. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, Lou,” Harry said. “I’ll see you soon.” He kissed him one last time before walking to the bus. Louis watched and stood there until the doors closed. Harry sat beside the window and looked at him, pressing his hand against the window. Louis waved until they drove away. He felt odd, suddenly, and a bit out of place. Like he wasn’t sure what he was meant to do now. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he fished it out, hoping it was Harry. However, it was just Liam and Niall in their group chat. 

Liam

**just left the gym. what are you all up to?!**

Niall

**I’m home**

**Lou did Sex monarchy leave?**

Louis

**Yep. They just left.**

Liam

**ah man...shall we get some coffee? breakfast?**

Niall

**Frankie’s Breakfast Bar?**

Liam

**please! I can taste their omelet already**

Louis

**LOL alright, I’ll see you there.**

Twenty minutes later, Louis walked into Frankie’s Breakfast Bar, a breakfast diner not too far from campus. Liam and Niall were already seated at a booth and Louis walked over to them, sliding in beside Niall. “Hello lads,” he greeted them, shrugging off his jean jacket. 

“You made it,” Liam smiled. “Everything go okay with the band?”

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, settling in. “Harry was running a bit late since he slept over last night, but he made it and I saw him off.”

“We know,” Niall replied, cocking an eyebrow. “I heard you both all fucking night.”

“Shut up,” Louis groaned, rolling his eyes. He couldn’t help it if the walls were thin. “Anyway, they’re off on the road. Everything was fine.”

“How are you, though?” Niall asked. “You doing okay?’

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” 

“Because your boyfriend just left to go on tour,” Liam pointed out, matter-of-factly. 

“Well, he’s not technically my boyfriend,” Louis reasoned. “And it’s only two weeks. I think we’ll be okay.”

“He’s not your boyfriend?” Niall asked. 

“No,” Louis shook his head. “We never defined it.”

“You’ve been dating for, like, five months almost.”

“Not really,” Louis shook his head. 

“Well, it feels like it,” Liam agreed. “He’s been living with you for the last week.”

“I know...but it’s still casual.”

Niall snorted as the waitress started approaching their table. “Sorry to break it to you, Lou, but you two are anything but casual.”

♫

The front door closed in the entryway and Louis turned to see Liam walking in. He gave him a small smile and wave, turning back to the reality show playing on the telly. He could hear Liam shuffling around with his shoes and coat before walking into the living room. “You alright, Lou? Have you started dinner?”

“No,” Louis shook his head. “Sorry. I just realized it’s my day to cook.”

“No worries,” Liam said with a kind smile. “I’ve got it.” He paused, glancing at the show and then at Louis, who was curled up underneath a giant throw blanket that they kept on their couch. “You feeling okay, though?”

“Yeah.”

It looked like Liam didn’t believe him, his eyes concerned, but he thankfully didn’t push. “Okay. Well, I’ll go get something started. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”

“Thanks, Liam,” he replied. 

It shouldn’t feel as off as it does for Louis. He had a life before Harry and he was content living it. He focused on his classes and took on more articles for the newspaper, much to Taylor’s delight, as well as extra shifts at the library. All so he could stay busy and get back into the groove of what life was before Harry, but he knew it was all in vain because life without Harry just didn’t exist anymore. 

Harry was there constantly on his mind, creeping into every crevice of his brain. Louis would find himself walking around campus, wondering what would have happened if Harry had continued to go to school and the talent scout never came to Delilah’s. Would they be boyfriends by now? Would Harry walk him to class, wait for him to finish, and go get dinner with him after, their feet tangled underneath the table? He wondered what would have happened if they’d properly met before January...if they’d have gotten into a relationship before things took off with the band. Louis would have had Harry to himself, just for a little bit. 

His mind tended to wander a lot thinking up all these scenarios, which really didn’t make sense. After all, what happened had already happened, and Louis was happy for Harry. He really, _really_ was. But Louis couldn’t help it. He still indulged himself in every daydream. 

He’d never tell Harry about them. Their nightly Facetime calls, which happened after Harry got back to the hotel from the venue, were already too short for him. Harry told Louis everything about their day from writing sessions, performances, and tour antics. Louis loved listening to him, sometimes feeling like he was right there experiencing it all. And Harry was still beautiful even through an iPhone screen as he laid in his dimly lit hotel room with spotty wifi. 

The tour was going exceptionally well for the band. Their social media follower count was rising daily and fans approached them after shows to beg them for an album and a headlining tour of their own. Harry sounded completely in awe when he spoke to Louis about it. It still astounded him that they had fans and people who cared about them. “It’s not just kids at Brighton University on a drunk night out,” Harry had said. “These are people out at shows, wanting to hear music, and loving ours. That’s _insane_!” 

In honor of the tour and everything else happening for the band, Louis decided to write about it for the newspaper. He mentioned the record deal, the upcoming album, and the current tour. Louis took pictures of it after they printed the paper today and sent them to Harry. That night after dinner, Louis retired to his bedroom to get some work done when Harry called. Louis picked up, Harry’s face appearing on the screen. He was laying on a white pillow, his curls splayed out all over. 

“ _Lou_ ,” he crooned, smiling deeply. 

“Hi babe,” Louis smiled back. “Already in bed?”

“I’m so knackered,” Harry said. “We didn’t have a show tonight, but we did a recording of ‘Naked Turbulence’ and it took a while because we changed a couple of things.” 

“I’m sure all the traveling is getting to your body a bit too,” Louis said, sitting down at his desk. “It’s not used to it, so you’re feeling the exhaustion from that too.”

“Yeah, probably. But enough about me. I read your article. You’re so fucking unbelievable.”

Louis laughed. “I volunteered for this one too, unlike the last one, which was forced on me.”

“We’ve come full circle. Thanks for writing it. I really like how you talk about our history a bit, like when we started learning our instruments and became interested in being in a band. I’m not sure a lot of people know about all that.”

“As a writer, it is my duty to do tons of research.”

“Oh, I see,” Harry replied, a slow smirk spreading across his face. “So you’ve been with me all this time for your journalistic purposes?”

“Absolutely,” Louis replied without missing a beat. “Now that that’s done...I guess that’s it.”

“Guess so,” Harry hummed, grinning now. “Can’t say I regret it, but it does sting a bit.”

“Sorry, babe,” Louis shrugged. “Had to do what I needed to.”

“I’m heartbroken.”

“Come home and I’ll make you feel better.”

Harry blinked at him owlishly, mouth agape. “You can’t just say stuff like that.”

Louis bit his lip. “Why?”

“Because I might just drop this whole tour and actually come home to you.”

He could feel his heart completely skip a beat, thudding in his chest, and his stomach swooped making him feel slightly off hinge. _Come home to you_. And Louis just allowed his mind to wander once more. What if Harry’s dream to become a musician was second to Louis, and he chose instead to pursue this relationship more? They’d fall in love more and more with each other every single day, and they’d be each other’s home, and that would be enough. 

But Harry wasn’t Harry without his dreams, and Louis felt bad for even letting himself think that. He wasn’t trying to change him. He wouldn’t. He could never ask Harry to give this up. 

“Don’t be silly,” Louis said. “You’re finishing the tour and then you can come home to me and we’ll make up for all the time lost.”

Harry watched him, his eyes unreadable, and spoke softly. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” Louis said. “More than I tell you.”

They continued to chat, Harry filling him in on his day about recording and writing for the album. Then Louis filled Harry in on what his day was like. They made plans to head to a new restaurant when Harry was back and maybe even catch an upcoming horror film they were both looking forward to. After they hung up, Louis made a quick bathroom trip. When he came back, there was a message from Harry. A single audio file. Louis opened it and a melancholic piano melody filled the room, the guitar and drums sweeping in moments later as it progressed. Then there was Harry’s voice. 

_Thinking about your bed in April_

_My golden boy, brighter than the sun_

_Wishing you were here with me_

_I’d tuck you in my heart, lock it with a key_

_Miss you today, I’ll miss you more tomorrow_

♫

“Morning, lads,” Louis greeted as he left his bedroom and walked into the kitchen. Liam glanced over at him as he got the coffee maker started. Niall eyed him warily from the dining table, a waffle half-sticking out of his mouth. Louis slowed his steps, approaching the fridge where he grabbed the carton of orange juice. “What’s wrong with you both?”

“Nothing,” Liam shook his head, looking down at the counter. “Morning, Lou.”

“Something is up,” Louis said as he took a glass out of the cupboard and poured himself some orange juice. “Niall, what’s wrong with you?”

“You just seem happy,” he replied. 

Louis cocked his head to the side. “And what’s wrong with that? Can’t be happy around here?”

“Well, you haven’t been for the last few days,” he pointed out before he widened his eyes and looked at Louis like he’d realized something. “I know why. It’s because Harry comes home today from tour.”

“Oh shit,” Liam laughed, leaning back against the counter. “That’s right.”

Rolling his eyes, Louis took his juice and sat across from Niall, grabbing the extra waffle off his plate and biting into it. “You two need to get a life and stop being the happy police.”

“And you need to stop being so obvious...and if you do insist on being obvious, at least own it,” Niall snorted. “We could barely get a word out of you the last few days. You’ve been a complete mope.”

Louis shrugged, not bothering to deny it. He missed Harry, and yeah, the last few days were a bit harder than usual. However, he was finally coming home today. Louis was going to act however he wanted to. Niall was right, though. Maybe he should stop acting like none of this meant anything to him. 

“So when does he get in?” Liam asked, joining them at the table. 

“At noon,” Louis said. “I’ve got classes, but I’m seeing him tonight.”

“Big plans?” Niall asked him, waggling his eyebrows. 

“All I’ll say is,” Louis started, taking another bite of his waffle. “If we sleep here tonight, you better get some headphones.”

Niall pretended to gag. “Disgusting.”

“Yeah, didn’t need to hear that,” Liam added. 

Louis smiled smugly and pulled his phone out to check the time. Just a few more hours, he thought to himself. A few more hours and Harry would be back. 

♫

There was a spring in Louis’ step as he walked back to his flat after his classes that afternoon. Harry had texted him in the middle of his literature lecture and let him know that they’d arrived back in Brighton. Louis texted back that he couldn’t wait to see him that night. He was planning to take a nice shower and get himself all nice and ready for Harry. They were going to get dinner and come back home together, likely Louis’ place. Louis honestly couldn’t remember a single time when he was this excited to see someone. 

As he approached his building, Louis’ steps slowed once he saw who was sitting on the front steps, hair up in a messy bun just like the last time he’d seen him in person. After two weeks of seeing Harry on his iPhone screen and grainy videos on Twitter and YouTube, having him be right in front of Louis just made him want to grab him and make sure he was real, that Louis wasn’t hallucinating or imagining this. 

“H,” Louis breathed out. 

Harry smiled at him sheepishly. “I couldn’t wait to see you either.”

Louis rushed forward just as Harry got up and the two of them hugged each other tightly. Louis squeezed him close, his face pressed to Harry’s chest. He smelled like himself this time and not like Louis, but that didn’t matter. He was _here_ and he was in Louis’ arms. 

“Missed you so fucking much,” Harry said. “I can’t even tell you.”

“I missed you too,” Louis replied, pulling back. He cupped Harry’s cheek, stroking it once, and leaned forward to kiss him soundly. Harry tightened his hold around Louis, bringing him closer, one of his hands cheekily moving down to grip Louis’ bum. Louis slightly shoved him off, a playful glint in his eyes. “Not out in public, you wanker.”

Harry giggled. “Take me inside, then.”

“Come on. I’ll let you touch me as much as you want when we’re in the privacy of my room.” Despite Louis’ warning, Harry was still hanging off of Louis, crowding him in as they went up to Louis’ floor. “Did you eat anything?” Louis asked once they were inside his flat. None of the other boys were home yet. Hallelujah! 

“I haven’t, no,” Harry shook his head. 

“I’ll make you something. You must be starving.”

Harry followed Louis into the kitchen, who took out the works for turkey sandwiches. As he prepared them, Harry sat on the counter, filling him in on the phone call they had with the label that morning while on the tour bus back home. 

“Overall, the response was really good, and the main reason for joining this tour was exposure, which we did get.” 

“What’s next?” Louis asked. 

“We have to record more, especially the songs for the album. B-Sides is nearly complete.” 

“That’ll be fun,” Louis said. He was secretly happy that Harry wouldn’t have to travel for the time being. He wasn’t sure he could take it if he jetted off again for something after just coming back to him. 

“You should come,” Harry said as they sat at the dining table with their sandwiches. 

“To the studio?”

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “I want you to be there if you have time.”

“I should, yeah! I think that’d be sick.”

“I wish you got to come to the shows,” Harry said as he took a bite of his sandwich. Louis smiled, watching him. He was sure he was completely losing the plot if seeing Harry eating and being taken care of made him so happy. “Would have been nice to have you there too.” 

“Hopefully when you do something more local, I can make it out. Besides, I saw some videos online and they looked amazing. My fucking superstar.” Harry blushed, scrunching his nose adorably. “Have you written anything new since the song you sent me?” 

“A few,” Harry replied. “I’ve just been writing down anything that comes to mind, whether that’s a line, a word, or even an idea. They’ll slowly start getting more refined once we’re in the studio. Did you like the last one?”

“It was about me,” Louis said, giving Harry a pointed look. 

“They’re all about you, Lou.”

Louis sighed softly, putting his sandwich down and grasping the collar of Harry’s t-shirt. He tugged him closer and kissed him. “Come with me.”

Harry didn’t argue as they got up and headed straight for Louis’ bedroom, taking off each layer of clothing they had on as they went until they were naked and making out on Louis’ bed. Harry lay underneath Louis, holding him around the waist while Louis held his face, the two of them lost in each other’s kisses and taste. 

“I thought about you so much while I was away,” Harry whispered, his words mumbled against Louis’ lips. Louis trailed them down the column of Harry’s neck, sponging kisses as he went. “Missed you so much.”

Louis began to suck a mark on Harry’s neck, dragging his teeth as he did. “I bet I missed you more.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to have missed you as much as I have,” Harry breathed out, squeezing the flesh on Louis’ hips. 

“Show me how much you’ve missed me then.”

Before Louis could continue on with his love bite, Harry flipped him over flat on his back, kissing him once before he began searching for lube and condoms. Once he got them, he worked Louis open, drinking in every hiss, whimper, and moan while he slid in one finger, then two, and then three. When Louis felt it was enough, he grabbed Harry’s arms and got up on his knees until they were eye to eye. He kissed him gently, savoring the way Harry completely gave in to him, his body pliant and molding against Louis’. 

They maneuvered themselves with Harry sitting against the headboard and Louis straddling him, his arms wrapped around Harry’s shoulders. “Fucking gorgeous,” Harry said to him. Louis bit his lip, their eyes locked in a stare. Harry’s hand came up to his chest, pausing right over his racing heart. He leaned forward replacing his hand with his lips, sucking and biting on the skin. Their eyes maintained contact through every lick and drag of teeth. Once done, Harry admired his work. 

“Proud of yourself?”

Harry smirked, dragging a finger over it. “It’s mine.” He grabbed the condom, rolling it on his cock and slicking himself up with some lube.

Louis whined, completely flushed and sweaty. His hair was matted against his forehead and there was a shine to his naked body just from what they’d done so far. Harry looked a bit messy too, and Louis just wanted to devour him. He wanted his mouth, his hands, his cock. As Harry slowly slid in, Louis moaned, his forehead pressing against Harry’s shoulder. Once Harry bottomed out, he moved his hips in soft swivels and Louis eventually started moving his hips against Harry’s. 

“You feel so good,” Louis said, mouthing along the skin of Harry’s neck. 

“Missed this, love being inside of you,” Harry moaned back, grunting as he increased the speed of his thrusts. Their movements began shaking the bed, the headboard rattling against the walls, and Louis moaned loudly when Harry hit his prostate. He began to thrust in to hit that exact spot, propelling Louis closer to his climax. 

He didn’t want it to end, though. Two people couldn’t get any closer than the act of sex, and Louis wanted to just stay here in this position with Harry forever. Louis was reveling in it, eyes shut as he gave in to the pleasures of having Harry’s hand squeeze his arse with every thrust, his mouth sucking marks along Louis’ shoulders, and his cock completely ruining him. Harry engulfed every one of his senses and Louis felt hot with it. 

Harry began to let out choked sounds, his moans getting louder until he was coming, and Louis swiveled his hips to make it as pleasurable as he could for him. Once he came to, Harry lifted Louis off, splaying him on the bed before crouching down in front of his hips and swallowing his cock in one go. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Louis moaned, his hips arching up. Harry placed his hand on Louis’ waist, holding him down and focusing on sucking him off, his tongue swirling expertly. As he licked around the head, he began to stroke the base, focusing on suckling the tip. Louis could only let out another whine before he was coming. Harry quickly swallowed him down again, taking every last drop. Louis panted, his chest heaving as he blinked down at Harry, who was laying on his back beside Louis’ waist. “Holy shit.”

Harry nodded, unable to form words. He blinked up at Louis and smiled, his voice croaky. “Quick nap before round two?”

Louis grinned, moving until he was curled up against Harry, kissing his chest once, twice, thrice. “That sounds like an amazing plan.” 


	6. track six: brighton lights

**june**

* * *

Louis took a train up to London with Harry for the band’s next recording session at the beginning of June. The weather was warm and breezy, which was perfect for a day trip. He’d intended to go to the studio with Harry a lot sooner, but with final exams and the last newspaper issue of the year going out, Louis had no time. Harry, on the other hand, had had multiple sessions since then. He was hard at work on the album. Some nights, he ended up staying in London when the session ran too long and he couldn’t find the energy to make it back. He’d crash on the couch of a co-writer or producer they were working with, but most nights he was with Louis. 

It was funny to Louis that Harry spent more time at Louis’ flat than his own. Louis had mentioned it to Harry a few times, bringing up how he was paying rent for no reason, but Harry explained that it wasn’t for no reason. He had a lot of stuff and he needed to put them somewhere rather than clutter it all over Louis’ flat. It was adorable how organized he was. He’d claimed a drawer in Louis’ wardrobe and even a bit of closet space and he always kept it so clean. The domesticity of it all made Louis’ stomach swoop, both from nerves and happiness. 

“Today’s mostly going to be recording,” Harry explained as they walked inside the studio building. It was posh in the lobby, all sleek, grey marble, and high ceilings. “I’m still honing lyrics on other tracks, but there is one that sort of just seemed perfect from the get-go, so we’re recording that one.”

“Did I hear this one?” Louis asked. 

“I don’t think so,” Harry shook his head, a faint blush creeping on his cheek. Louis looked at him curiously, but Harry was already walking toward the front desk to check them in. Once the receptionist made them temporary ID badges, they walked to the elevator and went up to the 20th floor. When they got off, there were several doors leading into different rooms. Harry steered Louis to the last one, opening the door for him. 

Inside, they found the rest of the band and two other guys, who Louis supposed was working with them on the track. The band was sat on the couches that were spread out in the room while the two guys were by the mixing console. They all looked up as Harry and Louis entered, closing the door behind them. 

“Hi everyone,” Harry waved. “Brought Louis along with me today.”

Louis waved at the band and then Harry introduced him to the producer, Julian Bunetta, and the sound engineer, Greg James. “It’s nice to meet you guys,” Louis greeted them. He felt slightly nervous and out of his element. These guys were obviously professionals and it felt a little silly that Louis came to visit when they were clearly at work. 

“You too, Louis,” Julian said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Louis widened his eyes in surprise. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Harry added sheepishly. “Julian’s helped me with writing a few songs and I might have told him a bit about you to help with the process.”

“A bit, mate?” Julian laughed. “I feel like I’m a part of this love story.”

“Enough,” Harry huffed, corralling Louis toward one of the empty couches and away from the conversation. Louis had a stupid grin on his face at the fact that Harry spoke about him with others, especially his co-writer on the album. There was something so sweet about it. When they sat down, he pulled Harry close, giving him a quiet kiss. Harry sighed into it, nudging Louis’ nose with his own to return the kiss before settling back and wrapping his arm around Louis’ shoulder. 

“We were just discussing the order in which you’ll go in to record the track,” Greg briefed Harry. “Getting the instruments in will help you when we play it back for you in the booth and you can cue in your vocals that way, Harry.”

“Sounds good to me.” 

They began the process soon after. Louis found it all really cool as he sat back and watched them at work. Cara went in first, and then Zayn after, followed by Ed. Each session with them inside the booth took between 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how many takes they did. There was a lot of detail to it, the strive for perfection, which Louis found fascinating. He couldn’t help but be so proud. He might not have been the band’s biggest fan earlier, but being there and watching their dreams come true was a privilege. 

After all the members went in, it was Harry’s turn. Harry’d been going back and forth between sitting with Greg and Julian, weighing in with his thoughts on each take, while also sitting with Louis and giving him some time as well. Once he was inside the booth, he smiled at Louis, looking a little shy with his pink cheeks and bitten lips. They started up the track and the tune was slow, seductive, and smooth. Once Harry’s voice started drifting through, Louis understood why. 

_The foggy van windows_

_Your breath against my neck_

_My lips on your salty skin_

_Scratches down my back_

_Moan my name like it’s a sin_

This was clearly about the night they had sex in the van, and honestly, Louis was half-embarrassed and half in awe that Harry thought to write a song just about that. Not that the experience wasn’t amazing or mind-blowing, but Louis was already bad at taking compliments. All these songs specifically about him were just about doing him in. It was a really raunchy song at its core, but it was also really hot and romantic. Harry hadn’t even mentioned this one to Louis, so he sat there with a red face and wondered why he had to come into the studio today of all days when they were recording this song. 

No one really batted an eye, though, too focused on the track and making sure they were getting it right. Louis supposed in the end that it didn’t really matter to them who or what the song was about. It was a good one and Harry’s raspy, low voice was perfect for it. While he did another take, a blonde woman appeared at the door, and she looked quite professional. Pencil skirt with a nice blouse tucked in and heels that could kill. The rest of the band greeted her and Louis realized it was Perrie, their manager.

Their eyes met and Louis stood up to introduce himself as she walked over to him. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Louis.”

“Louis, yes,” Perrie smiled brightly. Her hair was tucked up into a ponytail and Louis was slightly taken aback by how beautiful she was. “I’ve heard tons about you from Harry. Happy you could make it to a session. You enjoying yourself?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing. I wasn’t able to come earlier because I was finishing up my semester at uni, but I’m done now,” Louis nodded. “Really proud of these lot for everything happening for them.”

“Same here,” Perrie said, gesturing for Louis to follow and sit with her on the couch. “I’m so glad I’m getting to work with them. I think they’re my easiest clients. They’re always up for anything.”

“They love you. I’ve only heard the best things about you.”

“That’s so sweet,” Perrie smiled. “I’m happy to do it, honestly. It’s difficult if artists don’t have one person who’s backing them in every aspect because this industry can be quite grueling. It’s why I’m here mostly. Wanted to check in and see if everything’s going well.”

“So far so good, but I’ll leave it to the professionals to tell you,” Louis smiled. 

Perrie laughed. “I’ll go and check in with them, then. I think Harry’s about done.”

Perrie got up and walked over to Greg and Julian while Harry watched them from the sound booth. He made eye contact with Louis while the others spoke and listened back to his vocals, and gave him a hesitant smile. Louis realized it was because of the song and Harry wanting to know if Louis liked it or not. Not knowing how to do this without being cringey, Louis blew Harry a kiss, which brought a bright smile to his face. He pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket. Louis rolled his eyes, too endeared by it all. 

♫

The pier was surprisingly empty when Louis went with Harry, his friends, and the rest of the band. Usually, in the summertime, it was constantly packed with people, but today was one of the slower days. With everyone off from their usual duties of work or being a rockstar, they thought it’d be nice to just chill out and do something fun so they made a day of it. 

“Should we order some Greek food tonight?” Harry asked, his lips close to Louis’ ears. He dragged them against Louis’ skin who shivered at the faint touch. 

They were all tired out. When they arrived a few hours ago, they did all the rides and then got fish and chips from the shop before settling down on the beach. The sky was darkening overhead, getting slightly cloudy and grey-looking. Louis and Harry had laid out a blanket for the two of them with Louis sitting between Harry’s legs while Harry held him around the waist. 

Zayn, Liam, and Ed were caught up in a card game, which Harry had joined for a bit, but then got bored because Liam kept winning and Harry hated to lose. Niall and Cara were off in their own little world as they’d made their way toward the water. Currently, Niall was being a photographer and taking multiple shots of Cara for her Instagram account. From Louis’ vantage point, they were all coming out great because Cara was gorgeous. He couldn’t help but wonder, though, if anything was happening between Niall and her...

“Random, but yes, we could,” Louis replied to Harry’s request. 

“I’m craving the kebabs from the one by your place.”

Louis laughed. “And to think, you were so skeptical when I first suggested we try it.”

“I’ve learned my lesson on doubting you, baby.” 

Louis placed his hands over Harry’s, slotting their fingers together. “Is there a food that you absolutely hated for the longest time and then once you had it, you realized it’s actually amazing?” Louis asked. 

Harry contemplated his question for a moment. “I think peas. I greatly underestimated the value of peas and would always throw it out if my mum put some on my plate during meals when I was younger, but then I had it at this restaurant in London once and it’s completely changed the game for me. I think most nights when I’m making a meal for myself, I’ll always find a way to include peas.”

“That’s fair,” Louis replied. “Can’t say I’m that passionate about peas, but they’re fine and all. Don’t hate them, but don’t really have an opinion if I’m honest.”

“What about you, though? Give me your craziest food opinion.”

“I think avocados are shit. People hype it up so fucking much and eat it just because it’s, like, trendy or whatever. I mean, I’ve had it and it’s edible...but I won’t eat it because then I’m just giving in to this trend.”

“I like avocados,” Harry informed him. 

“You would like it, wouldn’t you?”

“You say that like you’re insulting me,” Harry guffawed. 

“Maybe I am,” Louis replied. He turned his head, blinking up at Harry, who leaned down to press his lips against Louis’. They were pliant and soft, and Louis liked that the kiss was slow and not really leading anywhere. There were times when he wished every part of his body could be attached to Harry’s, somehow, so they were one. 

Ed spoke up, breaking them apart and drawing everyone’s attention on him. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Do tell, young Teddy,” Cara said. She and Niall were on their way back to the group, which was perfect timing for Ed’s announcement. 

“I think we should do a show at Delilah’s...for old times sake.”

Everyone quieted down, pondering over his idea. “School’s not even in session, though,” Zayn pointed out. 

“I know, but hear me out,” Ed said. “We haven’t played there since March when we met with the label. And honestly, I really fucking miss it. Delilah’s is practically our second home if you think about it. I know school isn’t in session, but I bet those who stayed back and live here are still around and would love to come. I mean, Niall, Louis, and Liam are still here so we know it’s not a dead city.”

That was a fair point. Their flat wasn’t student housing. They leased it and they were each taking a break to head home for at least a week throughout the summer. Liam had gone two weeks ago and came back the other day. Louis was heading home at the end of this month, and Niall was going in August. They’d planned it so that at least two people were still at the flat during this break from uni. 

“I’m in,” Harry said, interrupting Louis’ train of thought. “I didn’t even realize it’d been so long since we played there. With the record deal and all that, we’ve been so busy and it hadn’t occurred to me.”

“And we’ve got a bit of a break now,” Cara added. “Our next recording session isn’t for another week. We could book a spot this weekend and post flyers like we used to.”

Louis could tell Harry was getting excited by the way his body was vibrating against him. Harry grabbed his phone, smiling at everyone. “Should I call Delilah’s and book this then?”

“Fuck yes,” Niall cheered. 

♫

It was a complete madhouse at Delilah’s on the night of the show. There were people packed inside and waiting outside to be let in, though there was no space for them. The owner had to prop the door open and open up some windows as well so that they were able to see and hear at least a little bit. Louis hadn’t expected it. He expected a big turnout considering the band was huge in their area, however, he didn’t expect _this_. 

The cheers were loud, voices shouting over another, and it seemed like an actual arena concert when the band started to play. They opened with their classics and threw in the covers they played on tour. Harry, being the cheeky bastard that he was, decided to slip in “Foggy Van Windows” as well, making Louis heat up in the small, cramped space. He and his friends were side-stage, looking at them from a weird angle, but they had no choice. It was enjoyable, regardless, just because of the frenetic energy in the air. 

As the show started to wrap up, Harry held the mic and waited as everyone quieted down. “I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who’s come...and everyone who came to our shows before. You helped us become who we are and we can never be more grateful for this early support. I’m not sure if you’ve all heard, but we are working on an album.” 

The cheers were deafening and could probably be heard from five blocks down. Louis cheered along with them, whistling and clapping. Harry looked at everyone with flushed cheeks and the biggest smile on his face.

“Thank you,” he continued. “Because of that, we’ve been busy, and haven’t gotten around to coming here in a while, but we're so glad we did this tonight. This feels like a proper send-off for us, especially because this place has always felt like home. No matter where we end up, or what the future holds, we’ll always remember Delilah’s. Thank you!”

Everyone cheered, holding their drinks up, including the band who’d brought along some with them on stage. After drinking, they bowed and the crowd continued to cheer for them. They got off stage and Harry hugged Louis first thing, kissing him messily on the cheek. “We have to leave,” he said loudly into his ear, trying to make sure Louis could understand him over the noise. “The owner said this crowd could be against their hazard code, so we need to leave now.”

“Oh, shit, okay,” Louis shouted back, slipping his hand in Harry’s. Harry led them out through the backstage area and past the exit doors. It was the same place he’d brought Louis to all those months ago when they shared their first kiss. Louis smiled at the memory and when he looked at Harry, he found him smiling back at him. Harry remembered it too. 

“What about all of your instruments?” Liam asked, confused as Ed led him outside. 

“We’ll come back for them later,” Harry replied as the door shut behind them. “When I had booked the gig, we didn’t realize it would get this big. We thought it’d suck to ask people to leave after everything, you know? So we just went on with it.”

“Makes sense,” Louis agreed. 

“This is just insane,” Niall added. “I’ve never been a part of something like that.”

“It still doesn’t sink in when shit like this goes down,” Cara replied, looking a bit dazed, but happy, nonetheless. Niall slung his arm around her and they started moving past a gate to get to the front road and head home. Louis stayed back with Harry who reached for his hand, tangling their fingers together as they’d gotten separated before. When they made it to the front, it was still packed with people, but not as loud as it was before. Hopefully, they could walk by unnoticed. 

However, that didn’t happen. Right away someone noticed them and shouted the band’s name, causing everyone to turn around. They all froze where they stood off the road, and slowly members of the crowd began to come over to them. It wasn’t an alarming amount, but Louis thought it all looked really overwhelming. People who were outside were there and those that were inside were coming out too. 

“Can I please get a selfie, Harry?” one girl asked, moving toward him. 

“Zayn, can I get one as well?” another bird popped in. 

“Cara, I’d love your autograph.”

“Ed, can you sign this napkin for me?”

When Louis looked, Harry seemed a bit nervous at first, but he took selfies with everyone who asked, even going as far as chatting with them about their favorite song and what they enjoyed about the show. The crowd made their way around the whole band, making sure to meet them all. Louis, on the other hand, made sure he was out of everyone’s way. Niall and Liam were standing a few feet down the road as well, both on their mobiles to keep busy. 

The whole thing was a bit nerve-wracking to Louis. He wasn’t sure how Harry was managing, but he was proud of him for keeping his cool. Louis couldn’t help but wonder if this would happen every time he went out with Harry. Would they be stopped if they did something as simple as going to the pier? 

It wasn’t until about thirty or forty minutes later that they were finally able to break free. The band said goodbye to everyone, allowing them to head back to the bar. Harry was by Louis’ side right away, holding his hand as they began walking toward home again. The rest of the band and Louis’ friends started walking ahead, letting the two of them stroll on their own. “That was bonkers,” Harry said after a while. “This happened on tour a few times, but never out here. And even then, on tour, they had someone guarding and standing back in case anything happened. Here it was just us alone.”

“You’re okay, though, right?” Louis asked, concerned as he glanced at Harry. “You weren’t feeling claustrophobic, or anxious, or anything?”

“No, no,” Harry shook his head. 

“Okay, good,” Louis said. “You did look a little shaky at first, that’s all.”

“I mean, yeah. It’s a bit intimidating if a crowd just surrounds you like that, but it was fine. Kind of cool when I think about it.”

“My superstar,” Louis said, squeezing his hand. Harry smiled, his dimples caving in. He looked at Louis carefully, studying him. 

“Are you alright? You also looked a bit shaky back there.”

“I am,” Louis reassured him. “It was crazy, but also exciting as you said. I think it’s just kind of dawning on me how everything’s changing...this is it.”

Harry didn’t reply and Louis took that as his agreement. Nothing would be the same again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please forgive me for the awful original lyrics bUT I had to try...I was very much inspired by daisy jones & the six so I tried channeling that while writing those instead of using their band/solo lyrics :)  
>   
> many thanks again to liz! I'll see you guys next time when I've conjured up the next 3 chapters. in the meantime, i'd love to know your thoughts. xxxxx

**Author's Note:**

> [fic post](https://butyouneverdo.tumblr.com/post/635635810454110208/fic-you-are-worlds-away-author-wildestdreams) | [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/12ebXo3u9AycSbMSZfgaUO?si=hekLFJKHRnyjjiDhfe3neg) | [tumblr](http://butyouneverdo.tumblr.com/)  
> 


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